Produced by Sue Asscher and Col Choat

JOURNALS

OF

TWO EXPEDITIONS OF DISCOVERY

IN

NORTH-WEST AND WESTERN

AUSTRALIA,

DURING THE YEARS 1837, 1838, AND 1839,

Under the Authority of Her Majesty's Government.

DESCRIBING

MANY NEWLY DISCOVERED, IMPORTANT, AND
FERTILE DISTRICTS,

WITH

OBSERVATIONS ON THE MORAL AND PHYSICAL
CONDITION OF THE ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS, ETC. ETC.

BY GEORGE GREY, ESQUIRE.

GOVERNOR OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA;

Late Captain of the Eighty-third Regiment.

...

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOLUME 2.

...

LONDON:

T. AND W. BOONE, 29 NEW BOND STREET.

1841.

...

CONTENTS OF VOLUME 2.

CHAPTER 1. FROM GANTHEAUME BAY TO THE HUTT RIVER.

WRECK OF THE SECOND BOAT IN GANTHEAUME BAY.
EXPLORE IN ITS VICINITY.
ESTUARY AND SCENERY ABOUT IT.
PROVISIONS DIVIDED.
START FOR PERTH.
GEOLOGICAL REMARKS.
CROSS A DISTRICT OF RED SANDSTONE.
PLAINS ABOUNDING IN THE WARRAN PLANT.
SUPERIOR NATIVE PATHS AND WELLS.
ESTUARY OF THE HUTT.
DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY AND SCENERY.
PROGRESS OPPOSED BY NATIVES.
THE HUTT RIVER.
FIRST HILLS OF THE SOUTHERN IRONSTONE FORMATION.

CHAPTER 2. FROM THE HUTT RIVER TO WATER PEAK.

WILD TURKEYS SEEN.
DIFFICULTY OF URGING THE PARTY FORWARD.
THE BOWES RIVER.
NATIVE HUTS.
THE VICTORIA RANGE AND DISTRICT.
THE BULLER RIVER.
THE CHAPMAN RIVER.
SEARCH FOR A MISSING MAN.
SCENE WITH NATIVES.
RETURN OF PARTY FROM SEARCH.
THE MAN FOUND.
THE GREENOUGH RIVER.
CROSS THE HEADS OF TWO BAYS.
MORE NATIVE HUTS.
AUSTRALIND.
THE IRWIN RIVER.
SEARCH FOR WATER.
WATER PEAK HILL.
BENIGHTED IN RETURNING TO THE PARTY.

CHAPTER 3. FROM WATER PEAK TO GAIRDNER'S RANGE.

RETURN TO THE PARTY.
DESTRUCTION OF USELESS BAGGAGE.
CRITICAL SITUATION.
DIVIDE THE PARTY, AND PROCEED WITH THE STRONGEST TO PERTH FOR ASSISTANCE.
ARRANGEMENTS AT STARTING.
THE ARROWSMITH RIVER.
NATIVES.
MOUNT HORNER.
GAIRDNER'S RANGE.
GENEROUS CONDUCT OF ONE OF THE MEN.

CHAPTER 4. FROM GAIRDNER'S RANGE TO PERTH.

THE HILL RIVER.
DISCOVERY OF A NATIVE PROVISION STORE.
BARREN COUNTRY.
SUFFERINGS FROM THIRST.
SMITH'S RIVER.
LONG AND UTTER DESTITUTION OF FOOD AND WATER.
UNSUCCESSFUL SEARCH FOR WATER WITH KAIBER.
HIS TREACHEROUS INTENTIONS.
RETURN TO THE MEN.
DISTRESSING SYMPTOMS FROM THIRST.
LAST EFFORTS.
FORTUNATE DISCOVERY OF A MOIST MUD-HOLE.
PANGS OF HUNGER.
RIVER OF RUNNING WATER.
NATIVE SUPERSTITIONS.
MISERY FROM RAIN AND COLD.
PASS THE MOORE RIVER.
JOYFUL INTERVIEW WITH A FRIENDLY TRIBE.
NATIVE HOSPITALITY.
SUPERSTITIONS OF MY MEN.
ARRIVAL AND RECEPTION AT PERTH.

CHAPTER 5. FROM WATER PEAK TO PERTH.

(MR. WALKER'S PARTY.)

PARTY SENT IN SEARCH FROM PERTH.
RETURN WITH CHARLES WOODS.
SECOND PARTY IN SEARCH, UNDER MR. ROE.
ARRIVAL OF MR. WALKER AT PERTH.
NARRATIVE OF THEIR PROCEEDINGS FROM WATER PEAK.
EXTREME DISTRESS FROM HUNGER AND THIRST.
DEATH OF MR. SMITH.
TIMELY DISCOVERY OF THE REST BY MR. ROE.
MR. ROE'S REPORT.

CHAPTER 6. SUMMARY OF DISCOVERIES.

RIVERS AND MOUNTAIN RANGES DISCOVERED.
DISTRICTS OF BABBAGE AND VICTORIA.
MR. MOORE'S VOYAGE TO HOUTMAN'S ABROLHOS AND PORT GREY.
DISTRICT TO THE NORTH OF PERTH.

CHAPTER 7. VOYAGE HOMEWARDS.

NATURAL HISTORY.

CHAPTER 8. THE OVERLANDERS.

CLASS OF PERSONS.
THEIR MODE OF LIFE.
SUDDEN ACCUMULATION OF WEALTH.
EFFECTS OF THEIR ENTERPRISES.
MAGNITUDE OF THEIR OPERATIONS.
RAPID INCREASE OF WEALTH IN NEW SETTLEMENTS.
SPREAD OF STOCK STATIONS.
COURSE OF THE OVERLANDERS THROUGH AUSTRALIA.
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SOUTHERN AND WESTERN AUSTRALIA.
GENERAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE SPREAD OF COMMERCE AND EMIGRATION.

THE ABORIGINES.

CHAPTER 9. NATIVE LANGUAGE.

RADICALLY THE SAME THROUGHOUT THE CONTINENT.
CAUSES OF A CONTRARY OPINION.
DIFFERENCE OF DIALECTS.
EXAMPLES.
CAUSES OF ERROR IN FORMER ENQUIRERS.

CHAPTER 10. THEIR TRADITIONAL LAWS.

ERRORS OF THEORETICAL WRITERS REGARDING THE SAVAGE STATE.
COMPLEX LAWS OF SAVAGE LIFE.
CONSIDERATIONS ON THEIR ORIGIN.

CHAPTER 11. LAWS OF RELATIONSHIP, MARRIAGE, AND INHERITANCE.

RELATIONSHIP AND MARRIAGE.
DIVISION OF FAMILIES.
LAW OF MARRIAGE.
COINCIDENT INSTITUTIONS AMONGST THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS.
ORIGIN OF FAMILY NAMES.
SECOND COINCIDENCE.
BETROTHMENTS.
WIDOWS.
OBLIGATIONS OF RELATIONSHIP.
DIFFICULTY OF PURSUING THE ENQUIRY.
PROPERTY VESTED IN INDIVIDUALS.
UNIVERSALITY OF THIS CUSTOM.
LINE OF INHERITANCE.
CERTAIN LAWS REGARDING FOOD.

CHAPTER 12. CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS.

SUPERSTITIOUS REVENGE OF NATURAL DEATH.
MURDER.
STEALING A WIFE.
BREACH OF MARRIAGE LAWS.
IMPLICATION OF A MURDERER'S FAMILY IN HIS CRIME.
ORDEAL AND PUNISHMENT FOR OTHER TRANSGRESSIONS.

CHAPTER 13. SOCIAL CONDITION AND DOMESTIC HABITS.

POPULATION.
TERM OF LIFE.
CONDITION OF OLD AGE.
AND OF YOUNG WOMEN.
AVERAGE PROPORTION OF BIRTHS.
IDIOTS AND LUNATICS.
INFLUENCE OF POLYGAMY ON SOCIAL HABITS.
MODE OF CONVERSATIONAL INTERCOURSE.
CONSEQUENCES OF JEALOUSY.
DANCES.
CEREMONIES ON MEETING.

CHAPTER 14. FOOD AND HUNTING.

ERRORS REGARDING SCARCITY OF THEIR FOOD.
VARIETIES OF IT IN DIFFERENT LATITUDES.
CAUSES OF OCCASIONAL WANT.
LIST OF EDIBLE ARTICLES.
IMPLEMENTS FOR DESTROYING ANIMALS.
CONTENTS OF A NATIVE WOMAN'S BAG.
DIFFERENT METHODS OF CATCHING KANGAROOS.
COOKING A KANGAROO.
METHODS OF TAKING AND COOKING FISH.
FEASTING ON A STRANDED WHALE.
KILLING WILD DOGS.
TURTLE.
BIRDS.
OPOSSUMS.
FROGS.
SHELLFISH.
GRUBS, AND WALLABIES.
EDIBLE ROOTS AND SEEDS.
MODE OF COOKING AND PREPARING THEM.
FUNGI.
GUMS.
COMMON RIGHTS IN CERTAIN FOOD.

CHAPTER 15. SONGS AND POETRY.

GENERAL PRACTICE OF SINGING.
SONG OF AN OLD MAN IN WRATH.
POETS.
TRADITIONAL SONGS.
NATIVE OPINION OF EUROPEAN SINGING.
EXAMPLES OF SONGS FOR VARIOUS OCCASIONS.
INFLUENCE OF SONGS IN ROUSING THE ANGRY PASSIONS OF THE MEN.

CHAPTER 16. FUNERAL CEREMONIES, SUPERSTITIONS, AND REMARKABLE CUSTOMS.

DEATH AND BURIAL OF A NATIVE NEAR PERTH.
BURIAL OF A NATIVE IN THE LESCHENAULT DISTRICT.
CUSTOM OF LACERATING THEMSELVES, AND WATCHING AMONG THE GRAVES.
THE BOYL-YAS OR NATIVE SORCERERS.
KAIBER'S ACCOUNT OF THEM.
THEIR OPINION OF THE NIGHTMARE.
VENERATION FOR CRYSTAL STONES.
CIRCUMCISION.
OTHER CUSTOMS.

CHAPTER 17. CHARACTERISTIC ANECDOTES.

MIAGO'S IMAGINARY SPEECH AS GOVERNOR.
WARRUP'S ACCOUNT OF HIS JOURNEY WITH MR. ROE.
TRANSACTIONS WITH THE NATIVES IN A CASE OF POTATO STEALING.
JUDICIAL CASE OF ASSAULT.

CHAPTER 18. INFLUENCE OF EUROPEANS ON THE NATIVES.

CAUSES WHY IT HAS NOT HITHERTO BEEN BENEFICIAL.
WRETCHED STATE OF THE NATIVE POPULATION.
PREJUDICES AGAINST THEM.
EVIL EFFECTS FROM THEIR FEROCIOUS CUSTOMS REMAINING UNCHECKED.
PLAN FOR PROMOTING THEIR CIVILIZATION.

...

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

1. Native of Western Australia.
Captain Grey, delt. G. Foggo, Lithographer. M. and N. Hanhart,
Lithographic
Printers.

2. Mount Victoria and Mount Albert.

3. Glaucus, Sp.

3a. Janthina.

4. Cymothoa, Sp.

5. Stenopteryx, Sp.

6. Form of basaltic dykes at Gregory's Valley, St. Helena.

7. Geological Section from Gregory's Valley, St. Helena.

8. Crossing Cattle over the Murray, near Lake Alexandrina.
Drawn on stone by George Barnard from a sketch by G. Hamilton, Esquire.
M. and N. Hanhart, Lithographic Printers, 64 Charlotte Street, Rathbone
Place.

9. Basaltic Rocks, Campaspi River, near Port Phillip.
Drawn on stone by George Barnard from a sketch by G. Hamilton, Esquire.
M. and N. Hanhart, Lithographic Printers, 64 Charlotte Street, Rathbone
Place.
Published by T. & W. Boone, London.

REPTILES AND AMPHIBIA.

10.1. Ronia catenulata (Gray).

10.2. Aprasia pulchella (Gray).

10.3. Delma fraseri (Gray).

11.1. Lialis burtonii (Gray).

11.2. Soridia lineata (Gray).

12.1. Moloch horridus (Gray).

13.1. Elaps gouldii (Gray).

13.2. Elaps coronatus (Schlegel).

13.3. Calamaria diadema (Schlegel).

13.4. Lialis burtonii (Gray).

14. Hydraspis australis (Gray).

15. Chelodina oblonga (Gray).

16.1. Hyla binoculata (Gray).

16.2. Hyla adelaidensis (Gray).

17.1. Breviceps gouldii (Gray).

17.2. Helioporus albo punctatus (Gray).
17.2.a. fore foot.
17.2.b. hind foot.

INSECTS.

18. INSECTS 1. Brachysternus (E.) lamprimoides.

19.1. INSECTS 2. Biphyllocera kirbyana.

19.2. INSECTS 2. Biphyllocera fabriciana.

20. INSECTS 3. Helaeus echidna.

21. INSECTS 4. Bardistus cibarius.

22. INSECTS 5. Tympanophora pellucida.

23. INSECTS 6. Choerocydnus foveolatus.

24. INSECTS 7. Hesperia sophia.

25. INSECTS 8.1.a. Hecatesia thyridion female.

25. INSECTS 8.1.b. Hecatesia thyridion male upper side.

25. INSECTS 8.1.c. Hecatesia thyridion under.

25. INSECTS 8.1.d. Hecatesia thyridion fenestra in wing of male.

25. INSECTS 8.2. Hecatesia fenestrata male.

26. INSECTS 9. Cossodes lyonetii.

27. INSECTS 10. Trichetra isabella male.

28. INSECTS 11. Trichetra isabella female.

...

APPENDIX.

A. Genealogical List, to show the manner in which a native family becomes
divided.

B. Mount Fairfax, the Wizard Hills, and Champion Bay.

C. Contributions towards the Geographical distribution of the Mammalia of
Australia, with notes on some recently discovered Species, by J.E. Gray,
F.R.S., etc. etc., in a letter addressed to the Author.

D. A List of the Birds of the Western coast, furnished by Mr. Gould.

E. A Catalogue of the Species of Reptiles and Amphibia hitherto described
as inhabiting Australia, with a description of some New Species from
Western Australia, and some remarks on their geographical distribution,
by John Edward Gray, F.R.S., etc. etc., in a note to the author.

F. Notes on some Insects from King George's Sound, collected and
presented to the British Museum, by Captain George Grey, by Adam White,
Esquire, British Museum, addressed in a letter to the author.

...

JOURNALS

OF

EXPEDITIONS OF DISCOVERY.

CHAPTER 1. FROM GANTHEAUME BAY TO THE HUTT RIVER.

WRECK OF THE SECOND BOAT IN GANTHEAUME BAY.

A few moments were sufficient to enable us all to recollect ourselves:
two men endeavoured to keep the boat's stern on to the sea, whilst the
rest of us lightened her by carrying everything we could on shore, after
which we hauled her up. The custom had always been for the other boat to
lie off until I made the signal for them to run in, and it accordingly
was now waiting outside the breakers. Her crew had not seen our
misfortunes owing to the height of the surf, which, when we were under
it, shut us out from their view, and now perceiving that we were on shore
and the boat hauled up, they concluded all was right; and notwithstanding
I made every possible sign to them not to beach, running as far as I
could venture into the sea and shouting out to them, my voice was drowned
by the roar of the surge, and I saw them bounding on to, what I thought,
certain destruction. We of course were all turned to render assistance.
They fortunately kept rather to the south of the spot on which we had
beached, and where it was much less rocky, so that the danger they
incurred in reaching the shore was slight in comparison to ours; yet some
of the planks of this boat were split throughout their entire length.

EXPLORE IN ITS VICINITY. COUNTRY ABOUT GANTHEAUME BAY. GEOLOGICAL
REMARKS. CROSS A DISTRICT OF RED SANDSTONE.

Whilst all hands were employed in endeavouring to repair damages I
ascended a hill to reconnoitre our present position and found we were in
a country of a pleasing and romantic appearance, and although the land
was not good the nature of the soil made me aware that we were most
probably in the vicinity of a large tract of better quality; indeed this
was the only part of South-west Australia in which I had met with the
ancient red sandstone of the north-west coast; immediately behind the
sandhills on which I stood was a thick Casuarina scrub which sloped down
into a deep valley, and beyond this rose lofty and fantastic hills. After
I had for some time looked round on this scene I returned to the party
and received the report of the carpenters, who, having examined the
boats, stated their inability to render either of them fit for sea. To
this I had already made up my mind; and even if the boats had been
uninjured I doubt whether we could ever have got them off again through
the tremendous surf which was breaking on this part of the shore; whilst
to have moved them to any distance would, in our present weak and
enfeebled state, have been utterly impossible.

ESTUARY AND LANDING-PLACE AND SCENERY ABOUT IT.

No resource was now left to us but to endeavour to reach Perth by
walking; yet when I looked at the sickly faces of some of the party and
saw their wasted forms I much doubted if they retained strength to
execute such a task; but they themselves were in high spirits and talked
of the undertaking as a mere trifle. I gave orders for the necessary
preparations to be made and then started with two or three hands to
search for water. On reaching the valley I have before mentioned we found
a small stream, and following this to the northward for about a mile came
out upon one of the most romantic and picturesque-looking estuaries I had
yet seen: its shores abounded with springs and were bordered by native
paths, whilst the drooping foliage of several large sorts of Casuarina,
the number of wild swans on its placid bosom, and the natives fishing in
the distance, unconscious of our presence, imparted to the whole scene a
quiet and a charm which was deeply felt by those who had now for so many
days been either tossed about by the winds and waves or had long been
wandering over barren and inhospitable shores. We did not indeed find
much good land about this estuary, but there were rich flats upon each
side of it, whilst the nature of the rocks and the lofty and peculiar
character of the distant hills gave promise of the most fertile region I
had yet seen in extra-tropical Australia.

We followed the shores of the estuary to the northward and eastward until
we saw a point where it appeared to separate into two branches. The
natives decamped as soon as they observed us coming, and Kaiber, who
watched them with the most intense interest, indulged in various
speculations as to the number they would bring back when they returned.
We joined the party and traced the shores of the estuary to its mouth,
which turned out to be the opening we saw in the morning: this mouth is
completely sheltered by a line of breakers and reefs, which, although
they present a most formidable appearance from the sea, can be doubled by
keeping pretty close along the shore in approaching the mouth of the
river. Owing to this reef there are no breakers on the bar, but its mouth
is very narrow and so shoal that I doubt if a boat could be got in at any
other time than high water: some of the sailors with me however thought
otherwise; but there is at all events convenient landing at this point
under the shelter of the reef.

FERTILE COUNTRY.

April 2.

The men not having quite completed their preparations for starting, I
moved off at dawn to resume the survey of Gantheaume Bay and its
vicinity. The estuary appeared this morning even more lovely than
yesterday, and as the heavy morning mists arose, unfolding its beauties
to our view, all those feelings came thrilling through my mind which
explorers alone can know; flowering shrubs and trees, drooping foliage, a
wide and placid expanse of water met the view; trickling springs and
fertile flats were passed over by us; there was much barren land visible
in the distance, though many a sign and token might lead the practical
explorer to hope that he was about to enter upon a tract of an extent and
fertility yet unknown in south-west Australia. A total change had taken
place in the geological formation of the land: a rock as yet unobserved
in the south-west portion of the continent occupied the principal place
here; and with this rock was associated limestone; the springs had a
strong sulphureous smell, and the lofty broken character of the distant
mountains had an almost grand appearance to those who had so long
wandered through low and level countries.

Each step I took rendered my spirits more buoyant and elastic, and each
hill, the position of which I fixed, gave me, from its appearance,
renewed hopes. Under such agreeable circumstances the morning wore
rapidly away, and, having rendered my survey as complete as I could, we
returned to the boats.

COMMENCE THE MARCH TO PERTH. PROVISIONS DIVIDED.

We were now all ready to commence our toilsome journey; the provisions
had been shared out; twenty pounds of flour and one pound of salt
provisions per man, being all that was left. What I have here designated
by the name of flour was quite unworthy of being so called. It was of a
dark yellowish brown colour, and had such a sour fermented taste that
nothing but absolute necessity could induce anyone to eat it. The party
however were in high spirits; they talked of a walk of three hundred
miles in a direct line through the country (without taking hills,
valleys, and necessary deviations into account) as a trifle, and in
imagination were already feasting at home and taking their ease after the
toils they had undergone.

I gave them all warning of the many difficulties they had yet to
encounter, and did this not with the intention of damping their ardour
but in the hope of inducing them to abandon some portion of the loads
they intended to carry. I entrusted a small pocket chronometer to Mr.
Walker, and another to Corporals Coles and Auger; and to Ruston I gave
charge of a pocket-sextant which belonged to the Surveyor-General at
Perth. Coles and Auger also undertook to carry a large sextant, turn
about; all my own papers, such charts as I thought necessary, and some
smaller instruments I bore myself; but Kaiber, in order to relieve me,
took charge of my gun and some other articles. Mr. Smith carried his
sketchbook and box of colours. I ought here to state that, in all the
difficulties which beset those individuals to whom I entrusted anything,
they never, except on one occasion, and by my orders, abandoned it:
indeed I do not believe that there is a stronger instance of fidelity and
perseverance than was evinced by some of the party in retaining, under
every difficulty, possession of that which they had promised to preserve
for me.

PICTURESQUE HALTING-PLACE.

Our loads having been hoisted on our shoulders away we moved. I had
before chosen my line of route, and the plan I had resolved to adopt was
to walk on slowly but continuously for an hour, and then to halt for ten
minutes; during which interval of time the men could rest and relieve
themselves from the weight of their burdens whilst I could enter what
notes and bearings I had taken during the preceding hour.

We were embarrassed for the first portion of our journey this afternoon
by a thick scrub, through which we could only make our way with great
difficulty, but on coming to a watercourse running into the southern part
of Gantheaume Bay from the south-east I turned up its bed, and we were
then able to move along with tolerable facility. This watercourse ran at
the bottom of a red sandstone ravine resembling the old red sandstone of
England; and the remainder of the evening was spent in clambering about
the rocks and endeavouring to avoid such natural obstacles as impeded our
route. Our progress was slow, and just before nightfall I turned up a
branch ravine trending to the southward, when we soon found ourselves at
the foot of a lofty cascade down which a little water was slowly
dropping; and on climbing to its summit it appeared to be so well adapted
for a halting-place for the night that I determined to remain here. The
men made themselves comfortable near the waterholes, and Mr. Smith and
myself crept into a little cave which occasionally served as a
resting-place for the natives, the remains of whose fires were scattered
about. A wild woodland and rocky scenery was around us; and when the moon
rose and shed her pale light over all I sat with Mr. Smith on the edge of
the waterfall, gazing alternately into the dim woody abyss below, and at
the red fires and picturesque groups of men, than which fancy could
scarcely image a wilder scene.

NATIVE PATH AND WELL.

April 3.

Before the day had fully dawned we were under weigh. Our course for the
first mile or two was embarrassed by ravines and scrub similar to that we
had yesterday met with; our progress was therefore very slow, but we at
length emerged on elevated sandy downs, thickly clothed with banksia
trees, and across these we came upon a well-beaten native path running to
the south by east, which was exactly our line of route. We had not
followed this path for more than four miles when we found a most
romantically-situated native well, surrounded by shrubs and graceful
wattle trees, and of a depth and size such as we had never before
observed. Here then we seated ourselves, and upon such scanty fare as we
had made a sparing breakfast. This however but very insufficiently
supplied our wants; and as we sat at this little well, thus surrounded
with such fairy scenery, a variety of philosophic reflections crossed our
minds and found vent in words. Nothing could be more delightfully
romantic than our present position. Both as regarded danger, scenery,
savages, and unknown lands, we were in precisely the situation in which
Mr. Cooper and other novelists delight to depict their travellers, with
this one woeful difference--our wallets were empty. It was in vain I
fumbled about in mine; I could neither find the remains of a venison
pasty, a fat buffalo's hump, or any other delicacy: indeed I had not the
means of keeping life and soul together for many days longer. Deeply did
we regret that we were not favoured for a few days with the company of
Mr. Cooper, that he might in our present difficulties fully initiate us
into the mysterious, nay, almost miraculous means by which his
travellers, even in the most dreary wilds, always contrived to draw forth
from their stock of provender such dainties that the bare recollection of
them made our mouths water; but the necessities of the moment would not
permit me for more than a few minutes to indulge in these speculations,
and we turned therefore from seductive travels of the imagination to the
more stringent ones of reality.

HEAVY LOADS CARRIED BY THE MEN.

I now entreated the men to disencumber themselves of a portion of the
loads which they were attempting to carry. Urged by a miscalculating
desire of gain, when the boats were abandoned they had laid hands upon
canvas and what else they thought would sell at Perth, and some of them
appeared to be resolved rather to risk their lives than the booty they
were bending under. The more tractable threw away the articles I told
them to get rid of; but neither entreaties nor menaces prevailed with the
others.

For the next three miles we still followed the native path which
continued to run south by east. The whole of this distance was over open
sandy downs, abounding in kangaroos; but we now suddenly emerged into a
rich limestone country of gently sloping hills and valleys, affording,
even at this season of the year, fair feed for sheep or cattle, and we
found springs of water at every few hundred yards, generally situated at
the edge of a large clump of trees.

After having for some time rested here I quitted the native path, which
trended too much to the eastward, and, leaving also the direction of the
limestone country which ran inland, we continued a south by east course
over a gravelly tableland in places covered with beds of clay on which
rested ponds of water. The country here was perfectly open, with clumps
of trees to the eastward. Emus and kangaroos were wandering about the
plains.

DIFFICULT SCRUB.

Two miles more brought us to an almost impenetrable belt of scrub which
lay east and west, directly athwart our path, so that we were obliged to
face it; and in two hours and a half I had forced my way through it. The
others followed, slowly emerging from the bush after me and, as we were
all totally exhausted, as well as dreadfully torn and bruised, we halted
at its edge for the night, and lighting our fires lay down to court that
repose we had so fairly earned. We had however only walked fifteen and a
half miles today.

April 4.

I again this morning used every effort to induce some more of the men to
abandon a portion of their loads. I represented to them their weak state,
the small supply of provisions they had with them, and the difficulty
they already found in keeping up with the party; but all these arguments
and every other I could make use of were unavailing; the tenacity with
which they clung to a worthless property, even at the risk of their
lives, is almost incredible, and it is to be borne in mind that this
property was not their own, but what they had taken from the wreck of the
boats. Did I even induce one to throw anything away another avaricious
fellow would pick it up; and their thoughts and conversation, instead of
running upon making the best of their way home and saying their lives,
consisted in conjectures as to what they would realize from their
ill-gotten and embarrassing booty.

SUPERIOR NATIVE PATH AND WELLS.

The course I pursued was one of 180 degrees and we soon fell in with the
native path which we had quitted yesterday; but it now became wide, well
beaten, and differing altogether by its permanent character from any I
had seen in the southern portion of this continent. For the first five
miles we traversed scrubby stony hills, thickly wooded with banksia
trees; but the limestone here again cropped out and we entered a very
fertile valley, running north and south and terminating in a larger one
which drained the country from east to west. This valley is remarkable as
containing one Xanthorrhoea (grass-tree) being the farthest point to the
north at which I have found this tree. In it also was a gigantic ant's
nest, being the most southerly one I had yet seen. All these
circumstances convinced me that we were about to enter a very interesting
region. And as we wound along the native path my wonder augmented; the
path increased in breadth and in its beaten appearance, whilst along the
side of it we found frequent wells, some of which were ten and twelve
feet deep and were altogether executed in a superior manner.

NATIVE WARRAN GROUND. PLAINS ABOUNDING IN THE WARRAN PLANT.

We now crossed the dry bed of a stream and from that emerged upon a tract
of light fertile soil, quite overrun with warran plants,* the root of
which is a favourite article of food with the natives. This was the first
time we had yet seen this plant on our journey, and now for three and a
half consecutive miles we traversed a fertile piece of land literally
perforated with the holes the natives had made to dig this root; indeed
we could with difficulty walk across it on that account, whilst this
tract extended east and west as far as we could see.

(*Footnote. The Warran in a species of Dioscorea, a sort of yam like the
sweet potato. It is known by the same name both on the east and west side
of the continent.)

It was now evident that we had entered the most thickly-populated
district of Australia that I had yet observed, and moreover one which
must have been inhabited for a long series of years, for more had here
been done to secure a provision from the ground by hard manual labour
than I could have believed it in the power of uncivilised man to
accomplish. After crossing a low limestone range we came down upon
another equally fertile warran ground, bounded eastward by a high range
of rocky limestone hills, luxuriantly grassed, and westward by a low
range of similar formation. The native path about two miles further on
crossed this latter range, and we found ourselves in a grassy valley,
about four miles wide, bounded seawards by sandy downs. Along its centre
lay a chain of reedy freshwater swamps, and native paths ran in from all
quarters to one main line of communication leading to the southward.

DANGERS OF DELAY.

In these swamps we first found the yunjid, or flag (a species of typha)
and the sow-thistle of the southern districts; one we came to was a thick
tea-tree swamp, extremely picturesque, and producing abundance of these
plants, some of which were collected by the men to eat in the evening. To
my surprise Mr. Walker here came up to me and asked if I did not think it
would be better to halt for a day or two at places of this kind to allow
the men to refresh themselves. The idea of men halting and wasting their
strength and energies in searching for native food whilst they had so
fearful a journey before them, and no supplies, appeared to me to be
preposterous in the extreme: to obtain a sufficiency of food, even for a
native, requires in Australia a great degree of skill and knowledge of
the productions of the country; but for a European, utterly unaccustomed
to this species of labour and totally unacquainted with the productions
of the land, to obtain enough to support life for any period, whilst at
the same time he has to search for water, is quite impossible. Even
Kaiber, from his ignorance of the roots, declared that he should starve
in this country. I saw therefore that did I adopt the proposed plan of
travelling only a few miles a day, and occasionally halting for a day or
two to refresh ourselves upon some thistles and periwinkles, I should
infallibly sacrifice the lives of the whole party; and under this
impression I declined to accede to the suggestion. Amongst indolent and
worn-out men however it subsequently became an extremely popular notion,
and, as future events clearly showed, a fatally erroneous one. I from the
first opposed it both by my words and example; and in this instance, as
soon as I conceived that the men were sufficiently rested, I moved on.

PICTURESQUE ESTUARY.

After travelling another mile we found ourselves at the head of a large
and picturesque estuary which lay north and south; the native path ran
along its shores, which were of great richness and beauty, and the
estuary itself lay to our west and was about two miles across; on the
east a series of rich undercliff limestone hills gradually rose into
lofty and precipitate ranges, between which and the estuary was the
fertile valley along which we wound our weary way; while groups of
graceful acacias with their airy and delicate foliage gave a great charm
to this beautiful spot. We moved slowly along, and ere we had made two
miles more the shades of night began to fall and I halted the party.

RICH AND FERTILE DISTRICT.

The abundance of grass which grew around enabled us to enjoy the almost
unknown luxury of a soft bed, yet as I lay down my thoughts were far from
pleasant when I found that we had only walked twelve miles today, and
this distance had been accomplished by several of the party with the
greatest difficulty. Three of them were the men who carried those heavy
loads which I could not yet induce them to abandon; now I could not but
reflect that, if their difficulty was so great in walking in a country
abounding with water, that it would be almost impossible for them to get
along in one where it was scarce; moreover the mere physical exertion of
getting unwilling men to move by persuasions and entreaties was harassing
in the extreme, and indeed had so agitated me that the night had nearly
worn away ere I closed my eyes. The rich flats we were on today have
apparently at no distant period formed part of the head of the estuary.

April 5.

Such a heavy dew had fallen during the night that when I got up in the
morning I found my clothes completely saturated, and everything looked so
verdant and flourishing compared to the parched up country which existed
to the north of us, and that which I knew lay to the south, that I tried
to find a satisfactory reason to explain so strange a circumstance, but
without success. It seemed certain however that we stood in the richest
province of South-west Australia, and one which so differs from the other
portions of it in its geological characters, in the elevations of its
mountains which lie close to the sea coast, in the fertility of its soil,
and the density of its native population, that we appeared to be moving
upon another continent. As yet however the only means I had of judging of
the large number of natives inhabiting this district had been from their
paths and warran grounds, but it was most probable that we should ere
long fall in with some of them.

We started at dawn pursuing a south-south-east direction, and at the end
of one mile rounded a bluff point; the limestone hills to the eastward
gradually decreased in elevation and we ascended one of them to gain a
view of the surrounding country. I found that the summit of this range
consisted of a terrace about half a mile wide, richly grassed and
ornamented with clumps of mimosas; to the eastward rose a precisely
similar limestone terrace, whilst to the westward lay the estuary with
its verdant and extensive flats.

APPEARANCE OF NATIVES.

As we wound our way along this terrace a large party of natives suddenly
appeared on the high ground to the eastward of us. They evinced no fear
whatever but advanced to within about two hundred yards, when I went
forward with Kaiber to induce them to hold an interview with us; this
however I could not bring about, for whenever I advanced they retreated,
and when I retired they advanced; they also now began to shout out to
their distant fellows, and these again cooeed to others still farther
off, until the calls were lost in the distance, whilst fresh
reinforcements of natives came trooping in from all directions.

INDICATIONS OF HOSTILITY. PROGRESS OPPOSED BY NATIVES.

Our situation was growing critical for had any of the party been wounded
we could not attempt to save his life by remaining with him without the
almost certain danger of losing our own, whilst on the other hand to have
abandoned him under such circumstances would have been impossible. I was
most anxious to get rid of these natives in peace, as they now could not
be induced to come to us, being most probably fearful of our numbers. I
hoped therefore they would let us go quietly on our way and moved the
party forward; but they now followed us with loud shouts, whilst those in
the distance came running up. I again halted but they would hold no
communication, and when in despair I again moved the party on we saw a
number hastening to occupy a thick scrub through which we had to pass.
The men now became so dissatisfied and alarmed that I found I should be
unable much longer to restrain them from firing if I did not disperse the
natives.

I therefore halted the party, and cocking my gun moved rapidly towards
them, motioning them away; they retired as I advanced, but directly I
turned they again followed us; I now ran towards them with my gun
pointed, when they made off before me once more, and in order to complete
their dispersion I had intended to fire over their heads; but to my great
mortification and their intense delight, my gun snapped, and, as they
found the weapon I had with me, and with which I had menaced them in so
authoritative a manner, appeared to produce no effect, they took courage,
and, turning about, made faces at me and an insulting noise which was
meant to imitate the snapping of the gun. Their inimical intentions now
became more manifest; I however ran at them again, and fired my second
barrel over their heads, which caused a rapid retreat; but they halted on
a rising ground about three hundred yards from us, and finding on the
muster of their forces that they had sustained no damage, they made
preparations, as if resolved to commence hostilities in earnest.

NATIVES DISPERSED.

As these natives had now unfortunately learnt to despise our weapons I
was compelled to act promptly, or blood would undoubtedly have been shed.
I therefore took my rifle from Coles and, directing it at a heap of
closely matted dead bushes which were distant two or three yards to the
right of their main body, I drove a ball right through it: the dry rotten
boughs crackled, and flew in all directions, whilst our enemy, utterly
confounded at this distant, novel, and unfair mode of warfare, fled from
the field in confusion, the majority of our party rejoicing at the
bloodless victory: we then wended our way along the native path which led
us down to the flats bordering the estuary, and finding there an
underground stream of water bubbling along through a limestone cavity and
having several openings upwards, we halted to refresh ourselves.

I had hoped that finding hostile natives in our vicinity would have made
the stragglers keep up better with the party, but they would neither
hasten on nor throw away their loads, so that my patience was sorely
tried; a man of the name of Stiles was the worst; nothing could induce
him to move along, and even the threat of leaving him behind produced no
effect; I however kept pushing steadily onwards, for I never thought of
the length of the journey we had to perform without trembling for the
result. We were now walking on a course of 180 degrees, and followed this
line for two miles and a half through a similar country. We still found
many native paths running along the estuary, and saw the natives fishing,
but they carefully avoided us, making off for the high lands as fast as
they could.

ESTUARY OF THE HUTT RIVER. DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY AND SCENERY.

The estuary became narrower here, and shortly after seeing these natives
we came upon a river running into it from the eastward; its mouth was
about forty yards wide, the stream strong, but the water brackish, and it
flowed through a very deep ravine, having steep limestone hills on each
side: many wild-fowls were on the river, but we could not get a shot at
them. Being unable to ford the river here we followed it in a south-east
direction for two miles, and in this distance passed two native villages,
or, as the men termed them, towns, the huts of which they were composed
differed from those in the southern districts in being much larger, more
strongly built, and very nicely plastered over the outside with clay and
clods of turf, so that although now uninhabited they were evidently
intended for fixed places of residence. This again showed a marked
difference between the habits of the natives of this part of Australia
and the south-western portions of the continent; for these superior huts,
well marked roads, deeply sunk wells, and extensive warran grounds, all
spoke of a large and comparatively-speaking resident population, and the
cause of this undoubtedly must have been the great facilities for
procuring food in so rich a soil.

MOUNT VICTORIA AND MOUNT ALBERT.

We now came to two very remarkable hills bearing north-east of us and
distant about three miles, which I have named Mount Victoria and Mount
Albert. They lay about one mile apart, and were of the form shown in
Illustration 2, which will give a good idea of the flat-topped hills
hereabouts.

THE HUTT RIVER.

The river still ran in a deep wooded valley bordered by rich flats, high
hills lying both to the right and left of our line of route. Two miles
and a half more on a course of 135 degrees brought us out on some
gravelly barren plains, and just before coming to these, and in passing
through a scrub, we raised a flight of white cockatoos, of a species new
to me. One of the men got an ineffectual shot at them.

FIRST HILLS OF THE SOUTHERN IRONSTONE FORMATION.

After traversing these plains for two miles in a south-east direction we
came upon a valley through which flowed a branch of the river we had this
day discovered, running in a bed of fifty yards across, and having in its
centre a rapid stream falling in small cascades; it appeared at times
subject to extensive inundations, and here its course was through barren
plains covered with rocks piled up in strange fantastic masses, and the
bed was composed of that kind of red sandstone which at Perth is called
ironstone; this being the farthest point north at which I have remarked
it.

A number of grass-trees (Xanthorrhoea) grew near the spot where we had
halted; they appeared unhealthy and stunted, but indeed I suspect they
are a new and undescribed variety. Being desirous of procuring anything I
could for the men to eat I had the tops of some of these trees cut off
and boiled, they were however still so hard that to chew them was
impossible, and it was evident that we had not yet reached a parallel of
latitude calculated to produce tender-topped grass trees.

I knew our latitude and position this night exactly, as I had seen Mount
Naturaliste of the French in the course of the day. There could be no
doubt whatever that we were in a very remarkable district, for we stood
upon the point where the geological formations of the north-western and
south-western portions of the continent were associated together, and the
flora of which was so made up of those of both that it was impossible to
tell which predominated. There were many other interesting circumstances
connected with the surrounding country, some of which have been already
mentioned. I named the river and estuary now discovered the Hutt after
William Hutt, Esquire, M.P., brother of His Excellency the Governor of
Western Australia.

INDISPOSITION OF MR. SMITH.

Mr. Smith this day complained of weakness, not sufficiently however in
the least to alarm me. He had hitherto been nearly always in the rear of
the party without lagging, but I thought two of the men in a much weaker
state than he was.

CHAPTER 2. FROM THE HUTT RIVER TO WATER PEAK.

WILD TURKEYS SEEN.

April 6.

We moved off this morning on a course of 180 degrees. The first mile of
our journey was over low scrubby ironstone hills. We then came down upon
rich flats through which the main branch of the Hutt ran; and followed
the course of this branch for about two miles. It was not running but
there were many pools with water in its bed: the flats were rich and
grassy and on the hills to the westward (the Menai Hills) we descried
wild turkeys, being the farthest point north at which I had seen this
bird.

As I saw that the ground in front of us was very steep and abrupt, so
that the weak and weary would have found it a difficult task to master
such an ascent, I turned off on a course of 168 degrees, ascending a
sandy tableland covered with scrub. When we had walked three miles in
this direction the table-hill of Captain King bore east by south distant
five miles. We now proceeded parallel to the sea, which was distant one
mile through an indifferent country. This course continued for about five
miles, and on the ranges to the eastward the country still appeared to be
grassy and good.

RELUCTANCE OF THE MEN TO HASTEN ONWARDS. DIFFICULTY OF URGING THE PARTY
FORWARD.

Although we had walked very slowly many of the party were completely
exhausted, and one or two of the discontented ones pretended to be
dreadfully in want of water, notwithstanding they carried canteens and
had only walked eight miles since leaving the bank of a river; I was
therefore obliged to halt, and could not get them to move for three
hours. I am sorry to say that some who should have known much better
endeavoured to instil into the minds of the men that it was preferable
only to walk a few miles a day and not to waste their strength by long
marches; utterly forgetting that most of the party had now only seven or
eight pounds of fermented flour left, and that if they did not make play
whilst they had strength their eventually reaching Perth was quite
hopeless. This however was a very popular doctrine for thoughtless and
weary men, who were overloaded and yet from a feeling of avarice would
not abandon any portion of what they were carrying. The majority of the
party not only adopted these views in theory but doggedly carried them
into practice; and from this moment I abandoned all hope of getting the
whole party into the settled districts in safety. Poor fellows! most of
them paid dearly for the mistaken notions they now adopted. Mr. Smith,
with his usual spirit, was for pushing on, although his strength was
inadequate to the task. I laid under the shade of a bush lost in gloomy
reveries and temporary unpopularity; Kaiber by my side lulled me with
native songs composed for the occasion, and in prospective I saw all the
dread sufferings which were to befall the doomed men who sat around me,
confident of their success under the new plan; but like all prophets I
was without honour amongst my own acquaintance; and after considering the
matter under every point of view I thought it better for the moment to
succumb to the general feeling, yet to lose no opportunity on every
subsequent occasion of endeavouring to rouse the party into a degree of
energy suited to our desperate circumstances.

At the end of the three hours I again begged several of the party, who
appeared to be in an exhausted state, to abandon a portion of their
useless loads; but they were quite sure that by making short marches, not
exhausting their strength, and now and then halting for a day or two to
refresh, they could carry them into Perth, and therefore refused to part
with them. Mr. Smith and myself found that stopping in this way and
getting cold rendered our limbs so stiff and painful when we walked on
again that we could scarcely move; and I suspect that such was the case
with the other men, for when we started again I could hardly get them
along. One man of the name of Stiles, who was a stout supporter of the
new theory, made us stop for him nearly every five minutes.

THE BOWES RIVER.

After walking one mile we fortunately came to a very deep valley, having
such steep limestone cliffs on each side that it assumed quite the
character of a ravine: it was about a mile wide and in it was a
watercourse winding through deep flats. We however only found water in
pools; the course of the stream was very tortuous and its mouth was
almost blocked up by sandhills. The valley itself was both picturesque
and fertile, and the appearance of the country to the east and north-east
was highly promising. The stream I called the Bowes.

NATIVE RESTING-PLACE. NATIVE HUTS.

This spot was a favourite halting-place of the natives; and from the
number of huts and other indications which we saw the district must be
very densely populated. The huts were of the same superior construction
as those which we had seen near the Hutt, and the traces were very
recent, but the natives themselves were either at a distance or kept
carefully out of our way. The valley that we were now in, as well as the
other limestone valleys in this province, partook exactly of the
character of those in the carboniferous limestone districts of England
inasmuch as they were deep gorges, or ravines, now traversed by
watercourses or streams apparently much too insignificant to have grooved
them out.

PROVOKING INDOLENCE OF THE MEN.

Our finding water here was fortunate for I now showed the men that, had
they walked one mile farther instead of halting in the manner they had
done, they would have had abundance of it, and would have been, at this
moment, at least, five miles nearer home. I also directed Mr. Walker to
examine Stiles and to state whether he was in good health or not. He did
so and reported him quite well. I therefore when we started again gave
Stiles warning that I should not halt every minute for him but would
leave him behind, at the same time ordering him to walk in front of the
party, next after me.

I continued a course of 180 degrees up a steep limestone range, behind
which apparently ran a branch of the watercourse we had just passed: a
good country lay to the eastward of us. Stiles now delayed us so much
that some of his comrades spoke to him very warmly on the subject, whilst
others still held to the opinion that walking a few miles a day and
sometimes halting a day or two to refresh was the true mode of
proceeding. We only made two miles this evening and I threw myself on the
ground so worn and harassed that I could not sleep.

AN EXTENSIVE FERTILE COUNTRY.

Sunday April 7.

Before the sun had appeared above the horizon I managed to get the party
fairly started, and we followed a course of 180 degrees over elevated
sandy downs which rested on a limestone formation. The first four miles
of our journey was not very encouraging; we could only see as far to the
eastward as the flat-topped range; and although the slopes of these hills
looked very fertile I had no means of judging how far back this good
country extended; we had however been creeping gradually up an ascent,
and when we gained the summit of this I turned to look to the northward
after the straggling party, who were slowly mounting the hill, some of
them staggering along under loads so heavy that I should have hated the
tyranny of any man who could have compelled them to carry such a weight;
but as it was I could only grieve to see men, from the hope of gain,
rushing so inevitably on their fate. Having gazed till weary at this
painful picture of the weakness of human nature, I turned to the
north-eastward, and there burst upon my sight a most enchanting view. In
the far east, that is, some twenty or five-and-twenty miles away,
stretched a lofty chain of mountains, flat-topped and so regular in their
outline that they appeared rather the work of art than of nature. Between
this range and the nearest one lay a large rich valley vying with the
most fertile I have ever seen in an extra-tropical country. In front of
us lay another valley which drained a portion of the large one, and in
both rose gently swelling hills and picturesque peaks, wooded in the most
romantic manner. Whilst I stood and looked on this scene, my woes were
forgotten. Such moments as these repay an explorer for much toil and
trouble.

THE VICTORIA RANGE AND DISTRICT. THE PROVINCE OF VICTORIA.

The distant range I at once named the Victoria in honour of Her Majesty;
and being now certain that the district we were in was one of the most
fertile in Australia I named it the Province of Victoria. There is no
other part of extra-tropical Australia which can boast of the same number
of streams in an equal extent of coast frontage, or which has such
elevated land so near the sea; and I have seen no other which has so
large an extent of good country. It is however bounded both to the north
and south by comparatively-speaking unproductive districts; but what the
character of the country to the north-east and south-east may be still
remains to be ascertained.

Another mile on a course of 180 degrees brought us to the valley in our
front; it was of the same rich and romantic character as that which I
have just described, being in depth about two hundred feet, down
limestone rocks, in places assuming the character of cliffs. In its
bottom was a watercourse containing water in pools only; but it must be
borne in mind that it was now the very end of the dry season. The party
all came up, and we laid ourselves down under the grateful shade of the
mimosas. Those who chose took their fill of water. I had made a rule
never to taste it except to wash out my mouth from sunrise until we
halted for the night; for I found that drinking water promoted profuse
perspiration and more ardent thirst, and I preferred practising a little
self-denial to enduring the greater pangs arising from indulgence.

Whilst I stretched my weary length along under the pleasant shade I saw
in fancy busy crowds throng the scenes I was then amongst. I pictured to
myself the bleating sheep and lowing herds wandering over these fertile
hills; and I chose the very spot on which my house should stand,
surrounded with as fine an amphitheatre of verdant land as the eye of man
has ever gazed on. The view was backed by the Victoria Range, whilst
seaward you looked out through a romantic glen upon the great Indian
Ocean. I knew that within four or five years civilization would have
followed my tracks, and that rude nature and the savage would no longer
reign supreme over so fine a territory. Mr. Smith entered eagerly into my
thoughts and views: together we built these castles in the air, trusting
we should see happy results spring from our present sufferings and
labours, but within a few weeks from this day he died in the wilds he was
exploring.

THE BULLER RIVER.

The stream we were on I named the Buller; we rested some time by it and
when we moved on some of the advocates of the eight or ten mile a day
system very unwillingly followed the party. We fell in with a native path
which wound up through a thick scrub in pleasing sinuosities, and emerged
upon a tableland similar to the one we had traversed this morning.

THE CHAPMAN RIVER.

I now followed a course of 169 degrees, and after walking three miles
more we arrived at the edge of a valley of the same character as that
wherein the Buller flowed, and through it we had another view of the
fertile country to the eastward: into this valley we descended and,
finding a watercourse running through it with water in pools, I seated
myself with such of the party as were up, about half a quarter of a mile
from the Mount Fairfax of Captain King, and named this stream the
Chapman.

SEARCH FOR A MISSING MAN.

Mr. Walker now came up with the remainder of the party and reported that
Stiles was missing. As he could have no difficulty in finding us I merely
took the precaution to make the men sit in such positions that he could
distinguish us from the summit of the opposite cliffs when he arrived
there, and we patiently awaited that moment. Time however wore on, and
some of the men finding a species of geranium with a root not unlike a
very small and tough parsnip, we prepared and ate several messes of this
plant. At length, no signs of Stiles having been seen, I sent Mr. Walker,
Corporal Auger, and Kaiber to the top of the cliffs we had descended to
try if they could discern anything of him or his tracks. During their
absence I expressed, in the hearing of some of the men, my anxiety lest
he should have lingered behind and have fallen in with the natives; upon
which they smiled and said that "Tom Stiles was a man who did not care
about the natives; and that only that morning he had said he didn't mind
for all the natives in the island, d--- them;" and that they thought he
had stopped behind on purpose.

GATHERING OF NATIVES. SCENE WITH NATIVES.

The absence of Mr. Walker and his party continued much longer than I
expected, and just at the moment that I had become rather alarmed about
it Coles reported to me that he saw natives on the opposite cliff,
jumping about and running up and down brandishing their spears in the
manner they do before and after a fight. Coles was at this time posted as
sentry on a terrace just above where we were, and the ascent to which was
very difficult. I got up on this as fast as I could; it was only two or
three yards broad and ran apparently along the whole length of the
valley. The natives used it as a path, and a very steep hill rose behind
it. I could not however make out the natives, and as the opposite cliffs
were a long way off I thought that Coles might have been mistaken. When I
told him this he merely said "Look there, then, Sir," and pointed to the
top of Mount Fairfax, distant about 400 yards due north of us, and sure
enough there were a party of natives, well armed and going through a
variety of ceremonies which the experience of centuries had proved to be
highly efficacious in getting rid of evil spirits. In the present
instance however their wonted efficacy failed, but the natives appeared
every moment to be getting more vehement in their gestures.

Our situation by no means pleased me: Stiles and a separate party of our
own men had mysteriously disappeared in the direction where Coles had
first seen the natives, by whom we were in a manner surrounded, and that
in an abominable position, for they could steal amongst the underwood
close above us in our rear, and annoy us with missiles of all sorts;
whilst from the extent and thickness of the scrub it was impossible to
occupy it effectually against treacherous (or rather, bold and skilful)
enemies. On the other hand I could not quit my present position and
occupy a more favourable one, for, in the event of Mr. Walker and
Corporal Auger being pressed by the natives and retreating on us, it was
our duty to be at that spot where they would calculate on finding us and
an effectual assistance. I made therefore the best disposition of my
little force I could, and, occupying the centre of the party, I had the
satisfaction of seeing our wild friends on Mount Fairfax, blowing
strongly at us and capering more furiously than ever when they beheld our
unaccountable manoeuvres.

THEIR MANOEUVRES.

It was fortunate that poor Kaiber was absent, for so fearful an
exhibition of sorcery would have altogether upset his nerves; but the
British soldiers and sailors I had with me remained surprisingly calm;
whilst the natives, having exhibited their antics for a few minutes more,
suddenly withdrew in a hurried manner. I therefore made up my mind for a
surprise, and we anxiously waited to see from what quarter the attack
would come.

CONTINUATION OF SEARCH FOR THE MISSING MAN. RETURN OF PARTY FROM SEARCH.

The cause of their disappearance was however soon explained. Mr. Walker,
Corporal Auger, and Kaiber came winding down the hills under Mount
Fairfax, and gave the following account of their proceedings: On
ascending the cliffs opposite to us they had found Stiles's tracks, and
had followed them until they reached the sea beach; on passing the stream
on their way there they found a place where he had halted and made up all
his flour into dampers; but on coming out on the shore they saw a large
party of natives seated on the sandhills in front, whilst others were
fishing in the sea at this point; and the tracks of Stiles turned off
into the interior: this hero, who wished to encounter all the natives of
the island single-handed, had evidently fled from them. Mr. Walker had
been unable to follow his tracks any further and had therefore thought it
most prudent to return to the main party.

From the circumstances of Stiles having thrown away part of his clothes,
and having made such a large quantity of dough to bake into dampers at
the first convenient opportunity, together with various expressions he
had dropped in the presence of the men, there could be no doubt but that
he had purposely quitted the party; yet to abandon him to his fate
amongst natives, who were by no means friendly in their gestures and
appearance, required a degree of resolution I was unprepared at that
moment to exercise. To leave him without a search was to sacrifice one
life, to allow one man to perish, whilst occupying one or two days in
looking for him would merely increase the temporary sufferings of the
rest; whilst the loss of time would probably occasion no other bad result
than a little more personal privation; and this, in order to try to save
the life of a fellow-creature, I conceived it to be my own duty and that
of the rest of the party to undergo. Influenced by these reasons I
desired all hands to prepare to start in search of Stiles.

Strange however to say, my resolution was scarcely made known ere much
grumbling arose; and this chiefly amongst those men who had lately been
loudest in their praises of the system of only marching a few miles a day
and occasionally halting for a day or two where we could get native roots
to eat, in fact, amongst those whose foolish ideas had led Stiles to
desert the party. We however moved on in the direction of the spot where
Kaiber had lost the tracks, and on our way over the high ground we met a
native with his spear and a handful of fish; he was lost in thought and
we were close to him before he saw us: when he did so he took no notice
whatever of us, but without even quickening his pace continued in his
original line of direction, which crossed ours obliquely. As he evidently
did not wish to communicate with us I directed the men not to take the
least notice of him, and thus we passed one another. He must have been a
very brave fellow to act so coolly as he did when an array so strange to
him met his eye.

ANOTHER PARTY OF NATIVES.

On arriving at the beach to the south of a bay or harbour,* which the
pressure of circumstances precluded me from examining, we could find
nothing of Stiles's tracks: he appeared to have gone off due east in the
hope of crossing our route, but, being in advance of us, and consequently
not finding our traces, it was impossible to say in which direction he
might have turned. The natives now mustered a very large force and
occupied the high hills (almost cliffs) which lay a few hundred yards to
our left, and, as they had such an advantageous position and could at any
moment surprise us amongst the low sandhills where we were searching for
Stiles's footsteps, our situation was one of great danger. At length,
finding it impossible to keep the men steady, I moved them up to the
higher ground, where we could have met the natives upon a footing of
equality. They appeared, although very numerous, to be now by no means
hostile, merely standing on a high hill, watching us and calling out
"Yoongar kaw," or "Oh, people!" whilst Kaiber, who knew nothing of their
vile magical practices, and therefore regarded them as mere ordinary
flesh and blood, was very ready to communicate with them; but as they
made no other advances, I thought it better merely to remain near them
for the night, occasionally firing a gun in hopes Stiles might hear it,
and with this intention I selected a spot for our encampment.

(*Footnote. For a further description of this harbour, which has been
since denominated Port Grey, see the account of the schooner Champion's
Expedition in the 6th chapter.)

April 8.

We started very early this morning and Kaiber exerted himself to the
utmost to find Stiles's traces. At the end of three miles, on a course of
180 degrees, we descended from the elevated scrubby plains we had been
moving along to the lowlands, and on reaching this came upon the bed of a
small watercourse. I here halted the party; and as it was uncertain when
we might again fall in with water I commenced a search for it with
Kaiber, but after travelling rapidly over a good deal of ground without
seeing either water or any traces of Stiles we rejoined the party very
much fatigued.

THE MAN FOUND.

For the next two and a half miles we wound along low, grassy, swampy
plains, thinly wooded with clumps of Acacias, and then entered upon low
scrubby plains bounding the sea-shore. I here caught sight of Stiles just
ahead of us and coming in from the eastward: he was very glad once more
to find himself in safety; and his comrades seemed pleased to see him
again, although many a suppressed murmur had met my ears during our
morning's walk at the trouble I was taking to look for him.

THE GREENOUGH RIVER.

Four miles further over similar plains in a south by east direction
brought us to a river, about five-and-twenty yards wide, which I named
the Greenough; and travelling up it a short distance we found a spot
where we could cross by stepping from rock to rock. Its waters were quite
salt. I continued our route for about three miles, when I found it was
impossible to induce some of the men to walk any further; they laid
sullenly down and were so fully convinced that I was pursuing a wrong
system in marching so far in a day, and never halting for two or three
days to refresh, as they wished, that I could do nothing with them, and
was therefore forced to sit down too. Corporal Auger soon afterwards
found water near us, and I moved the party down to it.

Finding water in some degree revived their spirits and I contrived to get
them to proceed seven miles more before nightfall, the way being over
sandy open plains very favourable for walking.

MORE NATIVE HUTS.

We passed a large assemblage of native huts of the same permanent
character as those I have before mentioned: there were two groups of
those houses close together in a sequestered nook in a wood, which taken
collectively would have contained at least a hundred and fifty natives.
We halted for the night in the dry bed of a watercourse, abounding in
grass, so that we again enjoyed the luxury of a soft bed. At first I
thought that we were near natives from hearing a plaintive cry like that
of a child, but Kaiber assured me that it was the cry of the young of the
wild turkey.

CROSS THE HEADS OF TWO BAYS.

In the course of this day we travelled across the heads of two bays,
which were indistinctly visible through the woods.

FERTILE VALLEY.

April 9.

The first three miles of our route this day lay over sandy scrubby
plains; we saw however a good country to the eastward. I found that a man
of the name of Charley Woods was much knocked up; he was a supporter of
the eight or nine miles a day system, and had a very heavy load with no
portion of which could I induce him to part; he however insisted on
sitting down every half mile and detaining the party, and as I found that
they got more worn out and weaker, and the impression in favour of long
rests and short marches became much stronger, I thought it more prudent
to acquiesce for the present.

We now reached a very thick belt of trees, pushing through which was a
task of great difficulty, but at length we emerged upon some clear hills
overlooking a very extensive and fertile valley, from which arose so
dense a fog that portions of it appeared to be a large lake. Into this
valley we descended, and the remainder of the day until near noon was
spent by me in endeavouring to get the men to move.

THE IRWIN RIVER. AUSTRALIND.

We this morning for the first time met with Zamia trees, and about 12
P.M. came down upon the large sandy bed of a dried up river which I named
the Irwin after my friend Major Irwin, the Commandant at Swan River;
following this for half a mile we found a native well, dug to a
considerable depth in the bed, but all our scraping here was vain. Water
was found at a great depth, but so shallow that we could not dip it up.
Some of the men saw four native boys playing in the grassy plains near
us; directly however the little fellows perceived us, they scampered off
at their utmost speed, and no doubt ever since that period they have been
firm believers in the existence of ghosts.

The men now began to complain much of the want of water, and I for some
time followed the traces of these native boys, who had come from the
southward and eastward, in the hope that their tracks would lead us to
it, but the grumbling and discontent of some of the men was so great that
I found it almost impossible to induce them to move. My object was to get
them to walk to a high peaked hill distant about five miles from us in a
due south-east direction, and under which I felt certain, from its
height, that we should find water, but I was obliged at last to give up
this idea: Charles Woods would not stir at all, and several of the men
followed his example; they laid down on the ground and no inducement
could prevail on them either to move or to abandon a portion of their
loads; and this obstinacy on their part was accompanied in some instances
with the most blasphemous and horrid expressions. Indeed I could not
conceal from myself the fact of its being the general impression that my
mode of proceeding was "killing the men," and that consequently some of
them had arrived at the resolution of compelling me by their conduct to
adopt their favourite system of short marches and long halts. But I was
still aware of the disastrous consequences which must necessarily result
from such a mode of proceeding, and determined to have nothing to do with
it.

In the course of the afternoon I managed to get the party to move about a
mile and a half in an easterly direction, but they here again sat down
and could neither be induced to walk or to part with their bundles.

SEARCH FOR WATER.

As they had not tasted water today I selected the best walkers, namely,
Corporals Auger and Coles, Hackney, Henry Woods, and Kaiber, and went off
to look for some to bring to the rest. We were now on a well-beaten
native path which traversed a fertile tract of country, and along this we
continued our route, walking as rapidly as we could, for night was coming
on apace. From this path we made frequent divergencies but found no
water; in one instance we met with a native well of great depth, where a
party of them had been drinking a few days before, but it was now quite
dry.

FIND IT AT WATER PEAK. WATER PEAK HILL.

We therefore continued our search, and just as it was growing dark had
made about seven miles of a circuitous course and found ourselves at the
foot of the high-peaked hill seen this morning, named by me Water Peak. I
still hurried along the native path, and was so wrapped up in the
thoughts of our present position that I passed, without seeing it, a
beautiful spring that rose to within a few inches of the surface. Near
this the natives had built a small hut, covered with boughs, concealed in
which they might kill the birds and animals which came to drink at this
lone water; the keen eye of Coles in a moment detected the little pool,
and our thirst was soon assuaged.

For a few minutes we lay on the bank of this clear spring, resting our
wearied limbs and admiring the scenery around us. There is a something in
the wild luxuriance of a totally new and uncultivated country which words
cannot convey to the inhabitant of an old and civilized land, the rich
and graceful forms of the trees, the massy moss-grown trunks which cumber
the soil, the tree half uptorn by some furious gale and still remaining
in the falling posture in which the winds have left it, the drooping
disorder of dead and dying branches, the mingling of rich grasses and
useless weeds, all declare that here man knows not the luxuries the soil
can yield him: it was over such a scene, rendered still more lovely by
the falling shadows of night, that our eyes now wandered.

BENIGHTED IN RETURNING TO THE PARTY.

I roused the men again and we commenced our return to the party, loaded
with a supply of water. It was now dark and we soon wandered from the
path. Kaiber took a star for his guide and led us straight across the
country; but our route lay through a warran ground, full of holes, and in
the darkness of the night we every now and then had a tremendous tumble,
so that at the end of about four miles I thought that it would be
imprudent to proceed farther, as we every moment were in danger of
breaking a limb or seriously injuring ourselves. I therefore halted for
the night, and as we were unable to light a fire both on account of the
heavy dew and of having no proper materials with us, the first portion of
it passed wretchedly enough, indeed, weary as I was, I found it necessary
to walk about in order to preserve some slight degree of warmth in my
frame.

At length however the men, who were much too cold to sleep, got up and,
renewing their efforts, succeeded in kindling a blaze. Kaiber soon
collected plenty of wood, and as I was unable to sleep I passed the night
in meditating on our present state.

POSITION AND PROSPECTS.

I felt sure that if the men persisted in their resolution of moving
slowly a lingering and dreadful death awaited us all; yet my opinion was
a solitary one. Mr. Walker had in many instances plainly and publicly
shown that he on this point differed with me; and he was a medical man,
and one who certainly never shrank from any danger or toil which he
thought it his duty to encounter. The most therefore I could say against
those who were opposed to my system of moving was that I conceived them
to be guilty of a grievous error in judgment; but it was not until our
separate opinions had been tested by the future that it could be
definitely pronounced who was right. Nevertheless those who have been
much with men compelled to make long marches cannot fail to have remarked
how readily and foolishly they find excuses to enable them to obtain a
halt, and such persons would probably have agreed with me in suspecting
that natural indolence of disposition, strengthened by fatigue and
privation, might induce men to adopt, without a very strict
investigation, any opinion falling in with their immediate feelings of
feebleness.

Being firmly convinced that these men intended to pursue a plan of
operations which would entail great misery both upon themselves and the
others, I considered that I ought undoubtedly to endeavour to save them
from the danger which I foresaw impending over them; and this could only
be accomplished by my making forced marches to Perth and sending out
supplies to meet them before they were reduced to the last extremities.
Had I foreseen a week ago that I should be compelled eventually to adopt
such a step I would then have taken with me all such as were willing to
march and have left the others; but this time had passed. My movement to
Perth must now be accomplished with the greatest expedition or it would
be useless; and to take anyone with me who was so much reduced as to have
delayed, impeded, or perhaps altogether to have arrested our progress,
would have sacrificed the lives of all.

CHAPTER 3. FROM WATER PEAK TO GAIRDNER'S RANGE.

RETURN TO THE PARTY.

April 10.

The morning's dawn found us in the vicinity of our comrades, and, just as
the thick grey mists began heavily to ascend from the low plains on which
I had left the party, we emerged from the bush upon the native path down
which we had travelled the preceding evening; here I turned northward,
and a few minutes more placed the party in our view. Some of them were
missing. I felt alarmed lest a new misfortune had happened and, hurrying
on, eagerly asked where they were. The answer given will describe more
truly their position than the most minute detail could do; it was: "They
are just gone into the bush to suck grass, Sir." This semblance of
extreme thirst must however, I suspect, have been in some measure a piece
of affectation upon their parts, for upon the morning of the day before
they had had a plentiful supply of water: whether however their extreme
sufferings were true or feigned mattered not, we fully supplied their
wants; and then I immediately ordered preparations to be made for our
further progress.

We moved on in the direction of the spring of water which lay about half
a mile to the eastward of our true line of route. Our movements were soon
again delayed by Woods, who began as usual to lie down and declare his
inability to proceed any further.

DELAYS CAUSED BY USELESS BAGGAGE. DESTRUCTION OF USELESS BAGGAGE.

I desired him to leave behind the heavy load he was carrying; but as upon
former occasions he again declared his determination to die rather than
part with this mysterious bundle, which appeared to possess an
extraordinary value in his estimation. It was easy to see from his
appearance that he was now really ill and unable to carry such a weight
as he was striving to do. At length he again laid himself down, declaring
that he was dying, and, as I determined no longer to see his life
endangered by his so obstinately insisting on carrying this bundle, I
took it up, and, informing him of my intention to pay him the full value
of any property of his that I might destroy, I proceeded to open it with
the intention of throwing all useless articles away.

Upon this announcement of mine he burst into tears, deplored alternately
his dying state and the loss of the bundle, and then poured forth a
torrent of invectives against me, in the midst of which I quietly went on
unfolding the treasured parcel and exposing to view the following
articles: Three yards of thick heavy canvas; some duck which he had
purloined; a large roll of sewing thread, ditto; a thick pea jacket which
I had abandoned at the boats, and had, at his request, given to him; and
various other old pieces of canvas and duck; also a great part of the
cordage of one of the boats, which he had taken without permission.

When these various articles were produced it was difficult to tell which
was the prevailing sentiment in the minds of some of the party--mirth at
thus seeing the contents of the mysterious bundle exposed, or indignation
that a man should have been so foolish as to endanger his own life and
delay our movements for the sake of such a collection of trash. A pair of
shoes and one or two useful articles were retained, the remainder were
thrown away, and in a few minutes we were again under weigh for the
spring of water.

HALT AT WATER PEAK.

Another hour's march brought us to the spring; and those who with me had
been marching through a great part of the night gladly laid down to rest;
but I soon roused myself again, being urged by the pangs of hunger.
Fortunately I had shot a crow in the morning, and now, gathering a few
wild greens that grew about the water, I cooked a breakfast for myself
and the native without being obliged to draw upon my little store of
flour. This frugal repast having been washed down by a few mouthfuls of
water, I resumed my meditations of the previous night.

CRITICAL SITUATION.

The following appeared to be our true position. We were about one hundred
and ninety miles from Perth, in a direct line measured through the air.
None of the party had more than six or seven pounds of flour left; whilst
I had myself but one pound and a half, and half a pound of arrowroot; the
native had nothing left and was wholly dependant on me for his
subsistence. Now we had been seven days on our route, and had made but
little more than seventy miles, and as the men were much weaker than when
they first started it appeared to me to be extremely problematical
whether we should ever reach Perth unless some plan different from what
we had hitherto pursued was adopted. And even granting that we did
eventually make this point, it was evident that we must previously be
subjected to wants and necessities of the most cruel and distressing
nature.

NEW PLAN OF PROCEEDING.

Yet it was quite manifest from recent events that the majority of the
party had not only made up their minds not to accelerate their movements,
but had fully resolved to compel me to pursue their system of short
marches and long halts. Being fully aware of the danger which threatened
them, it remained for me to act with that decision which circumstances
appeared to require, and to proceed by rapid and forced marches to Perth,
whence assistance could be sent out to the remainder. For this purpose it
was necessary that all those who accompanied me should be good walkers
and resolute men; for if any accident happened to the portion of the
party I took with me, arising either from want of energy, want of
discipline, or any other causes, that portion of the party which remained
behind would have been reduced to the last extremity.

DIVIDE THE PARTY, AND PROCEED WITH THE STRONGEST TO PERTH FOR ASSISTANCE.
ARRANGEMENTS AT STARTING.

Having formed this resolution, it became necessary to make a selection of
those who were to accompany me. In determining however upon this point I
had but little difficulty; for it was evident that those men who during
our late toils had shown themselves the most capable of enduring
hardships, privations, and the fatigue of long and rapid marches, were
those who were the best suited for the service I now destined them for.
The following was the division I made of the party: I named:

Corporal Auger,
Corporal Coles,
H. Woods,
W. Hackney,
Kaiber, the native,

as those who were to accompany me, and left the remainder under the
command of Mr. Walker.

EMBARRASSMENT REGARDING THE CHART.

In making my arrangements with Mr. Walker a very serious difficulty arose
upon his part, and one from which I immediately augured the worst of
consequences. On quitting the boats I brought away with me Captain King's
chart of the coast between North-west Cape and Cape Leeuwin, and had
hitherto carried it along with my papers and sketches. I wished Mr.
Walker to take this chart with him for the purpose of recognising his
position by means of the islands and headlands as he advanced along the
coast. No inducements upon my part could however persuade him to take
charge of it. It was in vain that I urged on him the well known fact that
nothing encourages men in a long journey so much as knowing the exact
distance they have travelled and what extent of country they have still
left to traverse. It was in vain that I assured him he would, from his
inexperience in calculating distances in the bush, soon get confused in
his reckoning; and that the men, finding out his error, would lose all
trust and confidence in him, whence would spring want of discipline and
disorders of various kinds; he knew that I much valued this chart and had
apparently taken it into his head that I wished to disencumber myself of
it and to entail the duty of carrying it on him.

He at length proposed to me to allow him to cut the chart up, in which
case he said he would carry on the part he wanted and leave the rest. I
would not however part with so valuable a document, for it contained my
route up to that point, and the public utility of the expedition mainly
depended on the preservation of it. He next requested me to make a copy
of it for him; this I assured him under existing circumstances it was
utterly impossible for me to do with sufficient accuracy to answer the
intended purpose, and I therefore would not attempt it. He then applied
to Mr. Smith, who coincided in my opinion; but ever willing to oblige he
made as accurate a copy as he could, which I in vain represented to Mr.
Walker he would find utterly useless. His unreasonable reluctance however
I could not overcome.

POINT OF RENDEZVOUS FIXED.

The next matter to arrange was what place should be fixed on as the point
of rendezvous to which assistance was to be sent to those who were left
to follow with Mr. Walker. This was soon arranged. Mr. Smith had
previously been with me to a place called Goonmarrarup, on the Moore
River about fifty-five miles to the north of Perth; and it was agreed
that the party should proceed along the coast as they best could until
they made the Moore River, where I would have another party stationed
with provisions to meet them; and in order that they might not pass this
river it was settled that the party who went out to meet them should
separate into two, one of which would remain at this point on the Moore
River, about twelve miles from the sea, whilst the other was to proceed
down to it, leaving, besides their tracks, marks to show where they had
passed; and then, in the event of not finding those they were in search
of, this last detachment was to push still further northward to look for
them.

As soon as the arrangements were concluded I assembled the men and
publicly repeated these directions to them; and to such as Clotworthy I
addressed strong admonitions as to their future conduct. Many of them did
not appear to be in the least aware of the critical situation they were
placed in; I however entertained great fears for the safety of some of
them. Poor Smith was at this time in a very delicate state of health, and
his courage and gentleness had so endeared him to me that the sight of
his sickly face made me long to be on the march to send out help to him.
For Mr. Walker I had no fear; I have never known anyone endowed with a
greater degree of patient endurance; indeed had he not, from a mistaken
good nature, been too familiar with the men, no one could have been more
admirably adapted for the trying position in which he was placed; and
even as events turned out I doubt if anyone could have been found who
would have endured more, or would have gone through greater exertions to
save those under his command.

The party I left, and who were not required to proceed by forced marches,
consisted of:

Mr. Walker,
Mr. Smith,
Thomas Ruston,
C. Woods,
T. Stiles,
A. Clotworthy.

SEPARATION OF THE PARTY. ADVICE TO THOSE LEFT BEHIND.

Before parting with Mr. Walker and Mr. Smith I again urged them to push
steadily onwards and never to idle for an instant; but I do not think
that either of them were fully aware of the dangers they had to contend
with. Poor Smith, as he squeezed my hand, begged me to send out a horse
for him, if one could be procured, and also some tobacco; he said the
only thing he dreaded was want of water.

Mr. Walker smiled and told me to look out for myself that he was not in
Perth before me, and several others seemed to participate in his feeling
and to regard my plan of proceeding as the height of folly.

I left with Mr. Walker's party everything that was really useful, such as
the cooking saucepan and the only hatchet we had. These were very
valuable to them, for had they come into a grass-tree country they might
have subsisted for a long time upon the tops of these trees, as Mr.
Elliott did upon a former occasion; for he together with two men lived
upon them for fourteen days. This very useful implement they however
threw away the second day after we parted. We also left them all the
fishing-hooks.

Mr. Walker's party instantly commenced on the system of halting, and
instead of moving on in the afternoon remained where they were that day
for the purpose of resting themselves.

The country we travelled over for the first two miles was pretty good,
being a series of grassy plains. At this point we came to a belt of thick
wood which we found exceedingly difficult to traverse. We then continued
our south by east course for four miles further over undulating sandy
downs, and halted for the night in a small clump of Banksia trees which
afforded plenty of wood for our fires.

April 11.

About an hour before daylight I roused the party, and as soon as it was
light enough to distinguish the surrounding objects we started. Our route
lay along a series of undulating sandy hills which sloped down to a
fertile plain, four or five miles in width, on the western side of which
rose a low range of dunes, and beyond these was the sea. We found the
walking along these hills very difficult on account of the prickly scrub
with which they were covered, and the general appearance of the country
to the eastward was barren and unpromising.

COURSE IMPEDED BY A THICK WOOD.

The course I pursued was about south by east, but we soon found ourselves
embarrassed in thick woods through which it was almost impossible to
force a way: the trees were not large but so matted together that it
required my utmost exertions to prevail upon the men to persist in
pushing through them, indeed it will afterwards be found that these woods
had a most disastrous effect upon the spirits of that portion of the
party which followed me. It was however absolutely necessary to make our
way through one of these which formed a belt of nearly a mile in width,
running almost east and west as far as the eye could see in each
direction.

I therefore gave a bold plunge into the bushes, followed by the native
and slowly by the other men, who kept alternately groaning from fatigue
and pain and uttering imprecations against the country they were in.
Having cleared this wood I turned rather more inland, and we pursued our
route over barren scrubby plains, and, after having travelled about
fifteen miles over this uninteresting description of country, we suddenly
found ourselves on the top of a low range which overlooked a most
luxuriant valley of about three miles in width, its general direction
appearing to be from the east-south-east.

THE ARROWSMITH RIVER.

I immediately knew from the appearance of the country that we were near
some large river; and whilst descending into the valley I indulged in
speculations as to the size of that we were about to discover, and as to
whether Providence would grant me once again to drink a draught of cool
river water.

I soon however began to fear that my expectations were to be
disappointed. We had already proceeded more than two miles of the
distance across the valley; and although the soil was rich and good we
had yet seen nothing but dry watercourses, inconsiderable in themselves
yet apparently when united forming a large river. I still however
entertained hopes of finding water, for I saw numerous tracks of natives
about, and the whole of this valley was an extensive warran ground in
which they had that very morning been digging for their favourite root.

At length, just as my patience began to wear out, we ascended, out of a
dry watercourse, a rise rather more elevated than the others we had met
with in crossing the valley; and from the summit of this a curious sight
met our view: beneath us lay the dry bed of a large river, its depth at
this point being between forty and fifty feet, and its breadth upwards of
three hundred yards; it was at times subject to terrific inundations; for
along its banks lay the trunks of immense trees, giants of the forest
which had been washed down from the interior in the season of the floods;
yet nothing now met our craving eyes but a vast sandy channel which
scorched our eyeballs as the rays of the sun were reflected back from its
white glistening bed.

WATER FOUND IN IT BY DIGGING.

I picked out the most shady spot I could for the men to halt at, then
descended into the bed of the river to search, with the native, for
water; and immediately on scraping a hole a few inches deep in the bed of
the river the water came streaming into it, for the sand composing the
bottom of the watercourse was completely saturated, and I afterwards
found that there were large pools of it immediately above and below where
we were.

The wants of the men having been thus supplied I determined, as it was
intensely hot, to halt for an hour or two; we each of us therefore ate a
little doughboy, or piece of damper, and the men then lay down to rest.
As I sat musing alone the first thought that struck me was how
providentially it happened that we had not fallen in with this river in
the season of the floods, as our crossing it then would have been utterly
impossible.

APPROACH OF NATIVES TO THE RIVER.

But my reveries were soon disturbed by hearing the call of a native from
the opposite bank, and I roused up poor Kaiber from his sleep that he
might ascertain what was going on upon the other side. His quick eyes
soon detected natives moving about amongst the bushes; but on farther
examination he ascertained that there was only one man, who walked as if
he had been wounded, the rest of the party being made up of women and
children, who were digging for roots. They were quite unconscious of our
presence, and we lay snugly behind a bush, watching all their movements.
As soon as they had dug a sufficient quantity of roots for their purpose
they descended to the bed of the river and walked up to a pool about one
hundred yards above our position, where they all drank and then sat down
to cook their roots. I ordered the men to keep themselves as quiet as
possible so that we in no way disturbed these poor creatures; and when at
length the party moved off we passed them in a diagonal direction so as
to give them an opportunity of seeing us without frightening them. When
first we emerged into view they began to run away; but when they saw that
we still moved steadily on without noticing them they were no longer
alarmed, but stood still, gazing at us with the greatest wonder and
amazement; the youngest children standing behind their mothers, peeping
cautiously out at us; and many a strange thought must have passed through
the breasts of these natives as they saw us wind in regular order up the
opposite hill. This tribe was the most northern one that I had seen wear
the kangaroo-skin cloak.

Another mile and a half in a south by east direction brought us to a low
range to the south of this river, which I named the Arrowsmith River
after Mr. John Arrowsmith, the distinguished geographer. From this range
we had a fine view of the rich valleys drained by this important stream.

MOUNT HORNER.

These valleys ran nearly north and south between the interior range and
the sandy limestone range parallel to the coast on which we now were; but
the river must also, of course, from its magnitude, penetrate the
interior range, which was only distant about sixteen miles from us. A
very remarkable peak in the latter, which bore east-north-east from this
point, I named Mount Horner, after my friend Leonard Horner, Esquire.

It appears from the report of the party who came along the coast that
this river loses itself in a large lake, between which and the sea a
great bar of dry sand intervenes in the dry season; there is however a
very fair proportion of good country in the neighbourhood of the
Arrowsmith.

In the course of the evening we travelled six and a half miles further in
a south-south-east direction, over barren, sandy, scrubby plains, which
extended on all sides as far as the eye could see, and even the interior
range appeared to be perfectly bare. Towards nightfall we were all quite
worn out from the difficulty we had experienced in walking through the
prickly scrub, yet I could see no place that afforded sufficient wood to
enable us to make a fire and, as most of us had no covering with us, and
the nights were intensely cold, we had every prospect of passing a most
wretched one; but at length I spied two clumps of Banksia trees, the
nearest of which we just reached as it became quite dark. The other clump
was about a quarter of a mile to the eastward of us, at which I soon
distinguished native fires; as the men were however much exhausted I
thought it better not to mention this circumstance to them, and Kaiber
and myself, who always slept at a little fire alone, kept a good look out
during the night.

This evening we found the Bohn or Boh-rne, a native esculent root, and it
is the most northern point at which I have met with it.*

(*Footnote. A small red root somewhat resembling in flavour a mild
onion.)

April 12.

Before dawn this morning our native neighbours, who doubtless were not
pleased at our sleeping so near them, began to cooee to each other, which
is their usual signal for collecting their forces; and, as our safety
depended upon none of the party being incapacitated by a wound or other
cause from proceeding with the utmost rapidity, I at once roused the men
and we resumed our way.

CONTINUE OUR ROUTE.

In the course of the day we made a march of twenty-five miles in a
south-south-east direction, the whole of this distance being across
elevated undulating sandy plains, covered with a thick prickly scrub,
about two and a half feet high; these plains were however occasionally
studded with a few Banksia trees, but anything more dark, cheerless, and
barren than their general appearance can scarcely be conceived.

About half an hour before sunset we came to the bed of a dry watercourse,
the direction of which was from south-east to north, so that it was
probably a tributary of the Arrowsmith. We were fortunate enough to find
a small pool of water in it, yet the large flights of birds of every
description that came here for the purpose of drinking showed the rarity
of water in these parts. We made several attempts to get a shot at them
but they were so wild, and we were so worn out and weak, that all our
exertions were unsuccessful. In the course of the evening one of the men
made up my last pound of flour into a damper for me, and I supped on a
spoonful of arrowroot.

SERIOUS ROBBBRY BY A RAT.

April 13.

On waking up this morning I found that in the night a rat had gnawed a
hole in the canvas bag in which my little damper was placed, and had
eaten more than half of it; this was a very serious misfortune as all my
provisions were now reduced to three table-spoonfuls of arrowroot and the
morsel of damper left me by the rat. As I had shared my provisions with
the native my situation was far worse than that of any of the others, and
he, poor fellow, had become so dispirited and weak that he was incapable
of searching for his food. Indeed the productions of the country through
which he had hitherto passed were so different from those of the one in
which he had lived that the various kinds of roots and vegetables were,
with one or two exceptions, quite unknown to him.

We made a very good march of it this morning, having travelled nineteen
miles in a nearly south direction before 12 o'clock. Soon after starting
we sighted Mount Perron, distant about two and twenty miles and, seen
over the waste and barren plains which surrounded us, it was a very
remarkable object.

We halted at noon for about two hours, during which time I made my
breakfast with Kaiber, sharing my remaining portion of damper between us.
It was almost a satisfaction to me when it was gone, for, tormented by
the pangs of hunger, as I had now been for many days, I found that nearly
the whole of my time was passed in struggling with myself as to whether I
should eat at once all the provisions I had left or refrain till a future
hour. Having completed this last morsel I occupied myself for a little
with my journal, then read a few chapters in the New Testament and,
having fulfilled these duties, I felt myself as contented and cheerful as
I had ever been in the most fortunate moments of my life.

GAIRDNER'S RANGE.

Soon after two P.M. we resumed our journey, travelling for about eight
miles in a due south direction over plains similar to those we had passed
yesterday and this morning, and then began to ascend a red sandstone
range of the same description as the Perth ironstone and thinly studded
with black bay trees. I named this range Gairdner's Range after my friend
Gordon Gairdner, Esquire, of the Colonial Office and, after continuing a
gradual ascent for about four miles, I found that we were in the
neighbourhood of a forest, at the outskirts of which I chose a spot for
our halting-place, which afforded plenty of firewood but was deficient in
water. As we had now however marched thirty-one miles without seeing
water, and were all perfectly worn out, I judged it more prudent to halt
where we were.

FIND SOME EDIBLE ZAMIA NUTS.

Kaiber here brought in some of the nuts of the Zamia tree; they were dry
and therefore in a fit state to eat. I accordingly shared them amongst
the party. Several of the men then straggled off to look for more, and
were imprudent enough, before I found out what they were doing, to eat
several of the nuts which were not sufficiently dried, the consequences
of which were that they were seized with violent fits of vomiting
accompanied by vertigo and other distressing symptoms; these however
gradually abated during the night, and in the morning, although rendered
more weak than they were before, the poor fellows were still able to
resume their march.

GENEROUS CONDUCT OF ONE OF THE MEN.

Soon after the fires had been lighted I was sitting alone by mine, as the
shadows of night were just falling over the wild hilly scenery with which
we were surrounded; I had no water to cook a portion of the three
spoonfuls of arrowroot yet left me, and I saw each of the others
preparing his scanty portion of food. The native had at this time gone
away to look for Zamia nuts, and it may be imagined that many almost
undefined feelings at such a time thronged rapidly through my mind.
Whilst thus thinking I heard Hackney propose to Woods to offer me a share
of their little store of food: "No," said Woods; "everyone for himself
under these circumstances; let Mr. Grey do as well as he can and I will
do the same." "Well then I shall give him some of mine at all events,"
said Hackney; and a few minutes afterwards he came up to my fire and
pressed me to accept a morsel of damper about the size of a walnut. I
hesitated at first whether to do so or not, but, being aware that when we
came into a country where game was to be found I could, by means of my
gun, provide enough amply to repay this lad, I took it, after several
refusals and having it as often warmly pressed upon me.

I was much affected by the kindness of Hackney, who was a young American;
and I regret to add that I felt more hurt than I ought to have done at
the remark of Woods.

CHAPTER 4. FROM GAIRDNER'S RANGE TO PERTH.

THE HILL RIVER.

Sunday April 14.

We travelled about fourteen miles due south over a range of high
ironstone hills which were occasionally clothed with grass-trees. The
scrub was however still thick, prickly, and very difficult to penetrate;
the heat was intense and the whole party were getting very weak. About
noon, and when we had just gained a commanding summit, I looked back at
Mount Perron, now several miles in our rear; from this point we began to
descend into an extensive valley, and at the end of fourteen miles
reached a small river which I named the Hill.

DISCOVERY AND PILLAGE OF A NATIVE PROVISION STORE.

We halted at the first pool we came to and the men, who had a little
flour left, boiled two tablespoonfuls of this in about a pint and a half
of water, thus making what they called soup. In the meantime Kaiber came
in and told me that he had found some holes in which the natives had,
according to their custom, buried a store of By-yu nuts,* and he at the
same time requested permission to steal them.

(*Footnote. The nut of the Zamia tree.)

I reflected for some time on his proposal; I was reluctant to mark the
first approach of civilized man to this country of a savage race by an
unprovoked act of pillage and robbery; yet we were now in the desert, on
the point of perishing for want of food, the pangs of hunger gnawing us
even in our very sleep, and with the means of temporary relief at hand. I
asked myself if I should be acting justly or humanely by the others,
whose lives were at stake if I allowed them to pass by the store, which
seemed providentially offered to us, without pointing it out.

In my perplexity I turned to Kaiber: his answer was, "If we take all,
this people will be angered greatly; they will say, 'What thief has
stolen here: track his footsteps, spear him through the heart; wherefore
has he stolen our hidden food?' But if we take what is buried in one hole
they will say, 'Hungry people have been here; they were very empty, and
now their bellies are full; they may be sorcerers; now they will not eat
us as we sleep.'" Good, it is good, Kaiber," I replied; "come with me and
we will rob one hole." And accordingly we went and took the contents of
one, leaving three others undisturbed. I brought back these nuts to the
men and we shared them amongst us.

We were so weary that we did not start until late in the afternoon, and
then travelled south by east down the course of the river, making about
six miles. It was joined by many small tributaries and now became a
running stream flowing through a deep grassy valley in which were many
large flats. In the course of the afternoon some of the men had a shot at
a native dog; he was a fine fat fellow; but they were unsuccessful and
never did I feel more disappointed than when I saw him cantering away
desperately frightened but perfectly uninjured. I was sufficiently
fortunate to shoot a hawk just before nightfall, and we then halted by
the side of the river, lighted our fires, and laid down to sleep.

April 15.

In the course of the night I had cooked the hawk which I shot yesterday
and before starting divided it as follows: I gave the head, entrails, and
shanks to the native; then cutting the residue in half I gave one part to
Hackney, who had so generously shared his morsel of damper with me, and
kept the remaining portion for myself. Poor Hackney's wan and wasted
countenance glowed with pleasure when this acceptable gift was placed in
his hands, and I felt no slight degree of satisfaction in having an
opportunity of showing him that I felt grateful for his act of generosity
to me.

We now followed the course of the river for about two miles further and
saw a considerable quantity of good land along its banks, clothed with
feed for stock; but I cannot tell how far back this extends.

The river now ran away nearly due west under a low range of hills; and
still adhering to my original plan I quitted its banks and continued my
course straight for Perth, travelling in a south by east direction. The
next two and a half miles led us to the top of a low range. The whole
tract of country between this point and the river was arid and barren in
the extreme, being devoid of all vegetation but a stunted prickly scrub,
and on it we saw no signs either of animal life or water. We here for the
first time since quitting Moresby's Flat-topped Range saw that the one to
the east of us became well wooded, the interval between these two points
having been completely bare of trees.

BARREN COUNTRY.

I now halted for about an hour and a half to rest the wearied men, and
then again commenced our route over this barren waste. For the next
twelve miles we travelled down a gentle descent leading to a very deep
valley, and late in the evening reached some dried up swamps where we
made an ineffectual search for water; we however saw here some parakeets,
and I was lucky enough to kill one which was about the size of a thrush;
several of the men also got shots at these little birds, but without
success. As the day had been intensely hot and we had tasted no water
since morning we suffered a great deal from want of it, but were at
length compelled by darkness to lie down to rest without finding any.

DRY BED OF THE SMITH RIVER.

April 16.

We had not travelled above two miles this morning in an east-south-east
direction when I found that we had reached the bottom of the valley into
which we had yesterday evening commenced our descent. In this valley lay
the dried up bed of a considerable stream, which I have named the Smith
after my unfortunate friend. Its direction was from north-east to south.

LONG AND UTTER DESTITUTION OF FOOD AND WATER. SUFFERINGS FROM THIRST.

As we were now suffering a good deal from thirst we made a search in both
directions along the bed, but although there were many pools (some of
them being twelve or fourteen feet deep) we could not find the slightest
indication of water having stood in them for a considerable time: in the
bottom of one of the deepest of these pools was a native well, dug to the
depth of about seven feet, but even at this distance below the surface we
could see no signs whatever of water. There was much good land in the
valley through which this watercourse wound, but all was barren and arid.
In the course of the morning we had seen a flight of cockatoos coming
from the eastward down the valley in which the bed of the river lay,
which at the time made me imagine that water would be found in that
direction in the interior, and the natives subsequently stated that such
was the case, but our circumstances would not admit such a deviation from
our course in a search which if unsuccessful would have proved fatal.

DISTRESSING SEARCH FOR WATER.

The sun had by this time become intensely hot, and the poor fellows grew
faint for want of water, whilst it aggravated their sufferings that they
stood upon the brink of a river, or wandered along its banks with eager
piercing eyes, and an air of intense scrutinizing watchfulness peculiar
to those who search for that on which their lives depend. One while they
explored a shallow stony part of the bed, which was parched up and
blackened by the fiery sun; their steps were slow and listless, and I
could plainly see how faint, weak, and weary they were; the next minute
another pool would be discerned ahead, the depth of which the eye could
not at a distance reach; now they hurried on towards it with a dreadful
look of eager anxiety, the pool was reached, the bottom seen, but, alas!
no water; then they paused and looked one at the other with an air of
utter despair. As long as they remained on the banks of this river bed a
glimmering of hope remained; but I felt convinced from the general
appearance of the country that there was not the slightest probability of
our finding water there, and resolved therefore still to continue a
direct route. When I gave this order the weak-minded quailed before it:
they would rather have perished in wandering up and down those arid and
inhospitable banks than have made a great effort and have torn themselves
away from the vain and delusive hopes this watercourse held out to them.

With great pain I witnessed and bore my part in this distressing scene,
but I at the moment felt that it would be necessary to save my energies
for other occasions; suspecting that we were in a great tract of desert
country, a large portion of which must still be passed ere we could hope
for any alleviation from our sufferings; and I therefore at once
commenced carrying into execution the order I had given, by walking on in
a south by east direction. In about two miles we had gained the summit of
the low range which bounded to the southward the valley where we had so
vainly searched for water, and for the next ten miles we travelled over
elevated sandy barren plains, thinly wooded with occasional clumps of
Banksia trees.

DRY TEA-TREE SWAMP.

On our left was a lofty and well wooded range, distant only about four
miles, and on our right lay extensive plains, the western extremity of
which, distant about sixteen miles from us, was by the sea; these plains
appeared tolerably fertile, being covered with tea-tree swamps, now
apparently dried up. I still was led on by the hope, raised by the height
of the range on our left, that we might find water issuing from it
towards the coast, and had therefore not searched the plains which lay
between us and the sea, indeed I felt fully convinced that the swamps we
saw were all perfectly dry and the native coincided in my opinion; about
an hour before sunset however we descended towards the plains, and
turning due west we reached them in about half an hour, but found all the
swamps quite destitute of water. As soon as it became dark I lit my fire
and laid down by it, advising the others to pursue the same course and to
preserve their energies for the morrow. But such advice was thrown away
upon men almost perishing with thirst, and every now and then throughout
the night I heard their weak husky voices as they wandered from swamp to
swamp in the neighbourhood, digging holes with pointed sticks in a vain
search.

NATIVE SONGS.

Poor Kaiber alone lay crouching by my fire, occasionally feeding it with
fresh fuel and chanting to himself these two songs, in his own language:

Thither, mother oh, I return again,
Thither oh, I return again.

The other had been sung by the mother of Miago, a native who had
accompanied Captain Wickham in the Beagle from the Swan River, and it had
made a great impression on the natives.

Whither does that lone ship wander,
My young son I shall never see again.
Whither does that lone ship wander.

EXTREME FEEBLENESS OF THE PARTY.

The night wore heavily on; sleepless sufferers were around me, and I
myself began to feel very anxious as to what the next day might bring.
The men had now been already one night and two days without tasting a
single drop of water or food of any kind whatever, for as the only
provisions they had left was a spoonful or two of flour each it was
impossible for them to cook this without water; indeed only two of them
had even this small supply of flour left, and the rest were wholly
destitute.

I personally suffered far less than any of the others with the exception
of the native, and this for several reasons. In the first place I had
been long accustomed to subsist on a very small quantity of water, and
secondly I had always kept my mind occupied and amused instead of giving
way to desponding or gloomy thoughts. When we halted and the others laid
wearily down, brooding over their melancholy situation, I employed myself
in writing up my journal, which was most scrupulously kept; and this duty
being concluded I had recourse to a small New Testament, my companion
throughout all my wanderings, and from this latter I drank in such deep
draughts of comfort that my spirits were always good.

DANGER OF PERISHING FOR WANT OF WATER.

April 17.

About an hour and a half before dawn we started in a south by east
direction, the native leading the way, for it was yet too dark for me to
select points to march upon. As we moved along we moistened our mouths by
sucking a few drops of dew from the shrubs and reeds, but even this
miserable resource failed us almost immediately after sunrise. The men
were so worn out from fatigue and want of food and water that I could get
them but a few hundred yards at a time, then some one of them would sit
down and beg me so earnestly to stop for a few minutes that I could not
refuse acceding to the request; when however I thus halted the native in
every instance expressed his indignation, telling me that it was
sacrificing his safety as well as those of the others who were able to
move, for that if we did not find water ere night the whole party would
die. He was indeed as weak from want of food as any of us, for we had
made such rapid and lengthy marches in the hope of speedily forwarding
assistance to those left behind that when we came at night to the
conclusion of our day's journey Kaiber was too much exhausted to think of
looking for food.

About two o'clock in the afternoon the men were so completely exhausted
that it was impossible to induce them to move, and at this period I found
that we had only made about eight miles in a south by east direction,
over plains studded with small sandy hills and the beds of dried up
tea-tree swamps.

When I halted the sun was intensely powerful; the groans and exclamations
of some of the men were painful in the extreme; but my feelings were
still more agonized when I saw the poor creatures driven, by the want of
water, to drink their own ----, the last sad and revolting resource of
thirst!

UNSUCCESSFUL SEARCH FOR WATER WITH KAIBER.

Unable to bear these distressing scenes any longer I ordered Kaiber to
accompany me, and notwithstanding the heat and my own weariness I left
the others lying down in such slight shade as the stunted banksias
afforded, and throwing aside all my ammunition, papers, etc., started
with him in search of water, carrying nothing but my double-barrelled
gun. We proceeded towards the sea. As the natives have the faculty, even
in the trackless woods which they have never before been in, of returning
direct to any spot they have left by however circuitous a course they may
have travelled after quitting it, I paid no attention to the direction we
were moving in but followed Kaiber, who roamed from spot to spot in the
vain search of water; but we found not a drop. The same arid barren
country seemed spread on every side; and when at length I began
occasionally to stumble and fall from weakness hope abandoned me, and I
determined to return direct to my comrades and get them to make one more
effort to proceed and search for it in a southerly direction.

TREACHEROUS INTENTIONS OF KAIBER, THE NATIVE.

I therefore told Kaiber that such was my intention, and directed him to
guide me to the party. With apparent alacrity he obeyed my orders; but
after leading me about some time in an extraordinary manner he told me
that he had lost his way and could not find them. His look was so very
plausible when he said this, and he seemed so grieved at the
circumstance, that for a moment I believed his tale; but I felt convinced
that we could not be at any very great distance from them and therefore
fired one barrel of my gun; the echo of this sound, never heard in these
solitudes before, rang loudly through the woods, remoter distances caught
it up, and at length it gradually died away: anxiously did I now listen
for a repetition of the report, for I knew, were they within hearing, the
men would instantly fire again to acknowledge the signal I had made; but
minute after minute passed on and no answering signal struck my ear. I
sat down and applied my ear to the ground; every sense became absorbed in
the single one of hearing, but not the remotest sound that I could
distinguish broke the frightful solitude of these vast woods. I remained
seated on the ground for a few minutes, still hearing no answer to my
shot, till the conviction gradually forced itself on my mind that the
native had been leading me astray. Only two cases could have occurred:
either he had done so purposely, for he could not, by any accidental
mistake, have taken me to such a distance as to prevent the party in
these silent woods hearing the report of my gun, or otherwise the men had
of themselves moved away from the place where I had left them. But I felt
assured that this latter supposition was not correct, for ever since I
quitted the other portion of the party I had maintained so strict a
discipline that no man ever separated from the rest without my
permission; indeed I had increased my strictness in these respects
exactly in proportion to our increasing difficulties; and I moreover felt
sure that some of the men were by far too much attached to me ever to
abandon me in such a manner.

My situation however was undoubtedly very critical, not as far as
regarded my own safety, for I was not now more than eighty miles from the
nearest settler's hut; but was it possible for me to return alone to my
countrymen and to say that I had lost all my comrades? that I had saved
myself and left the others to perish? Yet I knew that unless I sent
assistance to the first party I had left the majority of them could not
survive; and from the state I had, about an hour and a half ago, left the
others in, it appeared more than probable that they might wait and wait
anxiously, expecting my return, until too weak to move, and thus die
miserably in the woods.

These thoughts thronged rapidly through my mind. Indeed I was obliged to
do all things quickly now for I felt that my existence depended upon my
finding water within the next three or four hours. The native sat
opposite to me on the ground, his keen savage eye watching the expression
of my countenance, as each thought flitted across it. I saw that he was
trying to read my feelings; and he at length thus broke the silence:

"Mr. Grey, today we can walk and may yet not die but drink water;
tomorrow you and I will be two dead men, if we walk not now, for we shall
then be weak and unable. The others sit down too much; they are weak and
cannot walk: if we remain with them we shall all die; but we two are
still strong; let us walk. There lies the sea; to that the streams run;
it is long since we have crossed a river: go quickly, and before the next
sun gets up we shall cross another running water." He paused for a
minute, looking steadfastly at me, and then added, "You must leave the
others, for I know not where they are, and we shall die in trying to find
them."

HIS DESIGNS FRUSTRATED.

I now knew that he was playing me false and that he had purposely led me
astray. He was too great a coward to move on alone for fear of other
natives and, dreading to lose his life by thirst, he had hit upon this
expedient of inducing me to abandon the others and to proceed with him.
"Do you see the sun, Kaiber, and where it now stands?" I replied to him.
"Yes," was his answer. "Then if you have not led me to the party before
that sun falls behind the hills I will shoot you; as it begins to sink
you die." I said these words, looking at him steadily in the face, and
with the full intention of putting my threat into execution. He saw this,
and yet strove to appear unconcerned, and with a forced laugh said, "You
play. From daylight until now you and I have walked; we have wasted our
strength now in looking for water for the others. But a short time, and
we shall be dead; and you say, search for men whom I cannot find; you
tell me, look; and I know not where to look." I now lost all patience
with him and replied: "Kaiber, deceive as you will, you cannot deceive
me; follow back our tracks instantly to the point from whence we started:
if you do not find them, as the sun falls you die." "I am wearied,"
answered he; "for three days I have not either eaten or drunk, far have
we wandered since we left them, and very distant from us are they now
sitting." I could bear this no longer, and, starting up, said, "You
deceive: the sun falls! just now I spoke: Koolyum, nganga dabbut--garrum
wangaga." Again he forced a laugh and said, "Surely, you play." I
answered shortly, "Did I ever tell you a lie, Kaiber? I now speak the
truth."

RETURN TO THE PARTY WITHOUT WATER.

He seemed, when he saw that I was so determined, to feel a little
uncomfortable, and shifting his position moved rather further from me;
this motion on his part induced me to conceive that he intended to run
away; in which case I could never again have hoped to rejoin the party; I
therefore instantly cocked the remaining barrel of my gun and presented
it at him, telling him that if he ever moved from me further than a
certain tree which I pointed out I would forthwith shoot him, instead of
waiting until sunset as I had originally intended. The decided manner in
which I announced this to my friend Kaiber had the desired effect. He
made a few protestations as to the folly of my conduct; lamented most
loudly that his mother, and the Dandalup (a river of his own land) were
so far removed from him; asserted vehemently that the natives of these
parts were bandy-legged, rough-tongued beings; that they eat earth and
drank no water; and, winding-up with a fervent wish that he might catch
one of them wandering anywhere between Pinjarup and Mandurup, in which
case he would spear his heart, his kidney, and his liver, he sulkily
resumed his route and led me straight back to the party in about an hour.

DISTRESSING SYMPTOMS OF EXTREME THIRST.

The men, who had been much surprised at the length of my absence, were at
first buoyed up with the hope that I had found water; but this hope had
at last died away, and they knew not what to conjecture. They were all
reduced to the last degree of weakness and want; indeed I myself was at
this period suffering from the most distressing symptoms of thirst; not
only was my mouth parched, burning, and devoid of moisture, but the
senses of sight and hearing became much affected; I could scarcely
recognise the voices of the rest; and when uncouth unnatural tones struck
upon my ear it took me some time to collect my thoughts in order to
understand what was said, somewhat in the way in which one is obliged to
act when roused suddenly from a deep sleep. In the same manner my sight
had become feeble and indistinct; but by far the most distressing
sensation was that experienced upon rising up after having rested for a
few moments. I then felt the blood rush violently to the head, and the
feeling produced was as if it were driven by a forcing-pump through all
my veins.

LAST EFFORTS.

Previously to starting again I gave the men orders, which I believed at
the time would be, to some at least, the last. I did not attempt to hide
from them the dangers which surrounded us; but stating these I
represented that matters had now arrived at such a crisis that, in the
event of any of them being unable to proceed, it would be wrong to expect
the others to halt on their account; and I therefore called upon all to
exert their utmost energies and boldly to make a last struggle for their
lives. My intention, I told them, was to proceed slowly but steadily to
the southward, and never once to halt until I dropped or reached water;
even in the event of any being unable to keep up I warned them that I
should not wait for them but still pursue a steady and undeviating course
until water was found; but as soon as I had slaked my own thirst I would
return and bring assistance to those who might have been unable to come
on with me.

PAINFUL MARCH.

Having thus imparted my intentions I ordered them to throw away every
superfluous article; and a very valuable sextant, which had hitherto been
carried turn about by Corporals Auger and Coles, was here abandoned.
These our preparations having been made we moved slowly on in sad
procession, and never shall I forget the wild and haggard looks of those
that followed me; reason had begun to hold but a very slight influence
over some, and I feel assured that had it not been for the force of that
discipline which I rigidly maintained some of the party must now have
lost their lives. As it was, not a word of complaint was heard as to the
plan I pursued or the route I took; but they all reeled and staggered
after me, the silence being only broken by groans and exclamations. I
preserved a slow uniform pace, proceeding still in a south by east
direction, that is, in a straight line for Perth. The same sandy sterile
country was around, thinly clothed with Banksia trees.

We had marched for about an hour and a quarter and in this time had only
made two miles, when we suddenly arrived upon the edge of a dried-up bed
of a sedgy swamp, which lay in the centre of a small plain, where we saw
the foot-mark of a native imprinted on the sand, and again our hearts
beat with hope, for this sign appeared to announce that we were once more
entering the regions of animal life. We soon found that another part of
the swamp was thickly marked with the footsteps of women and children;
and as no water-baskets were scattered about no doubt could exist but
that we were in the vicinity of water. We soon discovered several native
wells dug in the bed of the swamp; but these were all dry, and I began
again to fear that I was disappointed, when Kaiber suddenly started up
from a thick bed of reeds and made me a sign which was unobserved by the
others, as was evidently his intention.

FORTUNATE DISCOVERY OF A MOIST MUD-HOLE. PROVIDENTIAL SUPPLY.

I hurried up and found him with his head buried in a small hole of moist
mud, for I can call it nothing else. I very deliberately raised Kaiber by
the hair, as all expostulations to him were useless, and then called up
the others.

Kaiber had completely swelled himself out with this thick muddy liquid,
and from the mark upon the sides of the hole had evidently consumed more
than half of the total supply. I first of all took some of this moist mud
in my mouth, but finding a difficulty in swallowing it, as it was so
thick, I strained a portion through a handkerchief. We had thirsted with
an intense and burning thirst for three days and two nights, during the
greater portion of which time we had been taking violent exercise under a
fierce sun. To conceive the delight of the men when they arrived at this
little hole of mud would be difficult. Each, as he came up and cast his
wearied limbs on the ground beside the hole, uttered these words: "Thank
God;" and then greedily swallowed a few mouthfuls of the liquid mud,
protesting that it was the most delicious water and had a peculiar
flavour which rendered it far superior to any other he had ever tasted.

DANGER OF PERISHING FROM HUNGER.

But it required some time before their faculties were sufficiently
recovered to allow them duly to estimate the magnitude of the danger they
had escaped. The small portion of muddy water in the hole was soon
finished, and then by scraping it out clean we found that water began
slowly to trickle into it again. The men now laid themselves down almost
in a state of stupefaction, and rested by their treasured pool. I felt
however that great calls upon my energies might still arise, and
therefore, retiring a little apart with the native, I first of all
returned hearty thanks to my Maker for the dangers and sufferings he had
thus brought me through, and then tottered on with my gun in search of
food. As might have been expected, game was here plentiful: numerous
pigeons and other birds came down at nightfall (which was now the hour)
for the purpose of drinking at this lone pool, and the numbers of birds