Discoveries in Australia Volume II Part 11

It was on one of those soft beautiful evenings, so common in Australia, that I received this narrative from my friend. We had strolled from his cottage, at the western extremity of the town of Perth, and had just emerged from the patch of woodland, concealing it from the view of the Swan, which now lay at our feet. About a mile below, the broad shadow of Mount Eliza, nearly extended across the river; and in the darkness thus made, the snow-white sails of a tiny pleasure-boat flitted to and fro.

Beyond lay the beautiful lake-like reach of the river, Melville Water, just ruffled by a breeze that came sweeping over its surface with all the delicious coolness of the sea. The beauty of the scene did not divert me from the events of my friend's story, serving rather to impress them the more vividly on my mind. I remember well the animated and affecting manner in which he delivered his narrative, and how his hard features became lit up as he proceeded by an expression of honest pride, fully justified by the fact that he had on that occasion been the means of saving the lives of several of his fellow-creatures. When he found them they were under a headland, which they had not sufficient strength left to ascend, nor were they able to round the sea face of it. One of them, finding all hope of proceeding further at an end, went down on his knees and prayed to the almighty for a.s.sistance; and just as another had bitterly remarked on the uselessness of proffering such a request, Mr.

Roe and his party, as if directed by the hand of Providence, appeared on the ridge above them. It would be painful to describe minutely the condition to which these poor fellows had been reduced; it will be sufficient to state, that thirst had compelled them to resort to the most offensive subst.i.tute for pure and wholesome water.

DEATH OF MR. FREDERIC SMITH.

One of their party, Mr. Frederick Smith, had been left behind; and so bewildered were they in their despair, that they could give no definite account of what had become of him. Mr. Roe immediately went in search, and not many miles in the rear, found the poor fellow quite dead in a bush, with his blanket half rolled round him. It appeared that he had tried to scramble up a sandhill and had fallen back into the bush and died--a sad and melancholy fate for one so young. He had laboured under great disadvantages in walking, having cut his feet in very gallantly swimming out to save one of the boats during a hurricane in Sharks Bay.

He was reduced to a perfect skeleton; having, in fact, been starved to death. The sight drew forth a tributary tear of affection even from the native who accompanied the party. Mr. Roe consigned poor young Smith's remains to the earth, and setting up a piece of board to mark the spot, smoothed down his lonely pillow, and moved with his companions in mournful silence towards the south.

It must have been an impressive scene; the sun, as if conscious that he was shining for the last time on the remains of the ill-fated young explorer, seemed to linger as if unwilling to descend into the western horizon; and his full red orb painted a number of light airy clouds that floated through the sky in the most brilliant colours, and shed a stream of fire over the water as it rolled with a mournful dirge-like sound on the strand close by. The howl of a wild dog now and then fell on their ears as they performed their melancholy task, and alone broke the stillness that reigned around, as they retreated slowly along the beach.

Whilst on this humane excursion, Mr. Roe witnessed a wondrous gift possessed by the natives. The one that accompanied him, perceiving footmarks on the sand, where some of his countrymen had been, was enabled by them to tell Mr. Roe, not only in what number they were, but THE NAME OF EACH. This account was verified on their return to Perth, from whence the natives had been sent during Mr. Roe's absence on the same errand.

HURRICANE IN SHARKS' BAY.

The hurricane I have mentioned, as encountered by Captain Grey in Sharks Bay, lat.i.tude 26 degrees South, occurred on February 28th, which, corresponding with the hurricane season of the Mauritius, leaves little doubt that at the same time the sh.o.r.es of New Holland are occasionally visited by more easterly ones, moving in nearly the same direction. The other two instances of hurricanes occurring in the neighbourhood are those of the Ceres, in 1839, in lat.i.tude 21 degrees South, above 300 miles North-North-West from Sharks Bay, and of the Maguashas towards the end of February,* 1843, in lat.i.tude 18 degrees South, about 400 miles north of the same place. Ships, therefore, pa.s.sing along the North-west coast of New Holland at the season we have mentioned, should be prepared for bad weather. The hurricane experienced by Captain Grey began at South-east and ended at North-west. The lull in the centre of it showed that the focus of the storm must have pa.s.sed over that locality. Captain Grey does not enter sufficiently into detail to enable us to trace the veering of the wind.

(*Footnote. In volume 1 will be found mention of the bad weather met with by the Beagle in this month on the north-west coast. For further information on this subject see Mr. Thom's interesting Inquiry into the Nature and Course of Storms London 1845.)

An observation I made on visiting this time the upper course of the Swan, is worth recording. Many parts were perfectly dry, more so than any I had seen on the Victoria, and yet I was informed that last year those very parts were running with a good stream. It seems reasonable to infer, therefore, that in certain seasons of the year the Victoria, though dry in some places when I visited it, is a full and rapid river.

During our stay the Colonial schooner, Champion, returned from an unsuccessful search for the mouth of the Hutt River, discovered by Captain Grey in the neighbourhood of Moresby's Flat-topped Range. Near the south end of it, however, they found a bay affording good anchorage.

ROTTNEST ISLAND.

March 25.

We moved the ship to Rottnest Island, to collect a little material for the chart, and select a hill for the site of a lighthouse. The one we chose lies towards the south-east end of the island, bearing North 76 degrees West (true) twelve miles and a quarter from Fremantle gaol. The Governor and Mr. Roe accompanied us to Rottnest, where we found that a penal establishment of Aboriginal prisoners had been formed during our absence.

ABORIGINAL CONVICTS.

No one would say that the Australian natives cannot work, if they could just see the nice cottages of which this settlement is composed. The Superintendent merely gives the convicts a little instruction at first, and they follow his directions with astonishing precision. They take great pride in showing visitors their own work. It is an interesting though sorrowful sight to see these poor fellows--some of them deprived of their liberty for life, perhaps for crimes into which they have been driven by the treatment they receive from those who have deprived them both of their land and of their liberty. Many, if not most of them, are in some measure unconscious of guilt; and they are almost incapable of appreciating the relation between what they have committed and the punishment which has fallen on them. Their minds are plunged in the darkest ignorance; or if they know anything beyond the means of satisfying their immediate wants, it is that they have been deprived of their rightful possessions by the men whose chains they wear. Surely this reflection should now and then present itself to the white man who is accustomed to treat them so harshly, and induce him to judge more leniently of their acts, and instead of confining himself to coersive measures for protection, make him resort to the means which are within his reach of raising the despised and oppressed savage more nearly to a level with himself in the scale of humanity.

The native prisoners at Rottnest collect salt from the lagoons, cut wood, and at present almost grow sufficient grain to keep them, so that in a short time they will be a source of profit rather than of loss to the crown. Some of them pine away and die; others appear happy. Generally, however, when a fresh prisoner comes among them, great discontent prevails; they enquire eagerly about their friends and families; and what they hear in reply recalls vividly to their minds their wild roving life, their corrobories, the delights of their homes; and of these, too, they are sometimes compelled to think when a blue streak of smoke stealing over the uplands, catches their restless eye, as it wanders instinctively forth in that direction from their island prison. They will often gaze on these mementos of their former free life, until their eyes grow dim with tears and their b.r.e.a.s.t.s swell with those feelings which, however debased they may appear, they share in common with us all. On these occasions they naturally turn with loathing to their food. Those who suffer most are the oldest; for they have ties to which the younger are strangers.

The rapidity with which the young ones grow up and improve in appearance, in consequence of their regular food and the care taken of them, is astonishing. They are allowed to have a common kind of spear, though without any throwing stick; and sometimes receive permission to go to the west end of the island to endeavour to kill wallaby, which are there rather numerous.

We were happy to find that the attention of the public, and the Government at home, had been drawn to the wrongs and sufferings of the Aborigines of Australia; and that a desire of preserving them from deterioration and ultimate destruction, had been evinced. Protectors had been sent out for the purpose of attending especially to their interests, so that it was evident that what was wanted was not goodwill towards them. It was easy, however, to perceive that the system was a bad one, and to foretell its failure. The most prominent feature in the plan adopted, was the gathering together of the natives in the neighbourhood of settlers without previously providing them with any means of subsistence, so that they were in a manner compelled to have recourse to depredations.

AMERICAN WHALERS.

To show to what extent whaling is carried on in these seas by foreigners, I may mention that during our stay at Swan River, I at one time counted as many as thirteen American whalers at anchor. It was to be regretted that this department of industry had been abandoned by the colonists, who however derived considerable advantage from the barter trade they carried on with the whale ships.

At Perth we found our old shipmate Miago, and were sorry to observe that he was as great a savage as ever. He had got into considerable disgrace among his fellows on account of his having performed one of these feats of which he was so continually boasting on the North-west coast, namely, carrying away a woman. He was hiding about, in momentary fear of being speared by those whom he had injured.

BOTANY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

Among the information obtained this time at Swan River, was the following table, relating to the vegetable kingdom of Western Australia.

COLUMN 1: NAME COMMONLY GIVEN BY SETTLERS.

COLUMN 2: NATIVE NAME.

COLUMN 3: GENUS.

COLUMN 4: REMARKS.

Mahogany : Jarrail* : Eucalyptus : Grows on white sandy land.

Red gum : Kardan : Eucalyptus : On loamy land.

Bluegum : Co-lort : Eucalyptus : On river banks and flooded lands, a sure indication of vicinity of water.

White gum : Wando : Eucalyptus : On stiff clay lands, sometimes tapped for water contained in hollow trunk.

York gum : To-art : Eucalyptus : Abundant in York--on good soil.

Cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at Perth : Gnardarup : Eucalyptus : Like several stems twisted together, abondant in interior.

Cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at Perth : Wooruc : Eucalyptus : Brown glossy stem, smooth.

Cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at Perth : Gnelarue : Eucalyptus : Nankeen-coloured stem.

Cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at Perth : Mallat : Eucalyptus : Tall, straight, rough bark.

Cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at Perth : Morrail : Eucalyptus : Nearly similar.

Cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at Perth : Balwungar : Eucalyptus : Glaucus-leaved.

Honeysuckle : Mang-ghoyte : Banksia : Large flowering cones containing honey.

Honeysuckle : Be-al-wra : Banksia : Large flowering cones containing honey.

Black wattle : Kile-yung : Acacia : Indication of good soil--produces gum.

Broom or Stinkwood : Cab-boor : - : Light sandy loam.

Holly : Tool-gan : Hakea : Sandy soil--produces gum.

Cabbage tree : Mote yar : Nuytsia floribella : Gum in abundance.

Beef tree or the oak : - : Casuarina.

Palm tree : Djir-jy or jirjy : Zamia media, gl. : Red fruit, nut, called baio, ripe in March, is considered a delicacy by the natives.

Raspberry jam : Maug-art : Acacia : Sweet scented--grows on good gruund.

Raspberry jam : Minnung : Acacia : Gum very abundant.

Blackboy : Balga : Zantha hast : Gum on the spear--resin on the trunk.

York nut : Madda : - : Smells like sandalwood.