Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake Volume Ii Part 8

After travelling in this order about two miles, we came to a large river,* emptying itself into Rockingham Bay. This river was about one hundred and fifty yards wide, and although the tide ran up it about a mile, fresh water was procurable from it considerably nearer the sea.

(*Footnote. Mackay River of the Admiralty chart of Rockingham Bay.)

At nearly high-water I tasted fresh water on one side of the river, and salt on the other, and about two hours after high-water, there was no difficulty in obtaining plenty of excellent water on either side of the river, in different places. There is a great deal of fresh water running into the sea here, and at the same distance from the sea as the mouth of the river, it is in some places mixed with salt water, whilst in others it is quite fresh. The banks of this river are low and sandy, and a short distance above where we joined it, it is skirted on either side by a thick mangrove swamp, for the distance of about a mile, where it joins the freshwater swamps, covered with thick scrub. On my proceeding up the river, it became narrower in its channel as it approached the swamps, from which it appeared to be princ.i.p.ally supplied. It had a tortuous course, and when I left it, was turning to the westward.

A boat was sent to us by Captain Stanley of H.M.S. Rattlesnake to a.s.sist us in carrying our stores across, which we effected with some difficulty by ten o'clock P.M., the horses and some of the sheep swimming across, while the remainder of the latter were taken in the boat. We pitched Mr.

Kennedy's tent on sand, at the side of the river, and it being dark, and not knowing where to obtain water on that side of the river, I and five others recrossed it, and went back about three-quarters of a mile to a small creek running parallel to the beach. We filled our kegs, and returned to the camp in time to have supper by twelve o'clock, after which we rolled ourselves in our blankets, and, wearied by the fatigues we had undergone, slept soundly till daylight.

This was a very hara.s.sing day to us, as we were all constantly in the water, loading and unloading the boat. It is but just to state, that Captain Stanley of the Rattlesnake, both in landing our horses and stores, and in crossing this river, rendered us every a.s.sistance in his power, and seemed throughout to take a strong interest in the expedition, and its object.

While landing our things at the other side of the river, the natives a.s.sembled in great numbers about our luggage. As they appeared to be friendly, we permitted them to come within about 150 yards of our landing-place; with some few we had a little difficulty, but for the most part they would sit down quietly as soon as a sign was made for them to do so.

June 6.

Early this morning Lieutenant Simpson of the Rattlesnake left us, he having stayed all night at the camp, and we were now left entirely to our own resources. We loaded our carts and packhorses, and proceeded about three miles inland, but again finding it impossible to cross the swamps, we returned to the beach, and about dusk came to another river, also emptying itself into Rockingham Bay, about two miles south-west of the first we had to cross. This river was much wider than the first, being about two hundred yards wide where we crossed it near the mouth. At the mouth of this river is a sandbank, over which the water is about four feet deep. Inside the bank the water is ten feet deep. The tide flows up for about a mile; there appears to be a great quant.i.ty of fresh water discharged into the sea from the river, which, I think, is princ.i.p.ally supplied from the swamps. These swamps lie at the foot of a high mountain range, and probably the rivulets descending from the range spread over the flat ground, and form channels by which they reach the sea. Fresh water can be obtained on either side the river very near the sea. I tasted fresh water on one side, salt in the middle, and slightly brackish on the other side, as we crossed over it. Small boats only can enter this river, on account of the sandbank at the mouth. Its course turned to the south-west about two miles up. Its banks were sandy and barren, at least close to the water; on the north side of the river there is a mangrove swamp, extending some distance up the stream; on the south side the banks are higher, and are covered with Casuarinas and Acacias, the soil being sandy and pretty well covered with gra.s.s, the land slightly undulating, for about one and a half or two miles up the river. It being too late to think of crossing the river to-night, we hobbled our horses, and having pitched Mr. Kennedy's tent, slept on the sand till morning.

June 7.

As soon as we had breakfasted this morning, we prepared to cross, to a.s.sist us in which undertaking we contrived to construct a sort of punt by taking the wheels and axletrees off one of the carts. We then placed the body of the cart on a large tarpaulin, the shafts pa.s.sing through holes cut for them, the tarpaulin tightly nailed round them. The tarpaulin was then turned up all round, and nailed inside the cart; by this means it was made almost water-tight. We then fastened our water-bags, filled with air, to the sides of the cart, six on each side, and a small empty keg to each shaft. We tied our tether ropes together, and made one end fast on each side of the river, by which means our punt was easily pulled from one side to the other. By this contrivance we managed to get most of our things over during the day, and at night a party slept on either side, without pitching the tents.

June 8.

One party continued employed in getting the remainder of the things across the river, whilst the others went in search of the horses, which had rambled to some distance to seek for better gra.s.s. The gra.s.s had hitherto continued plentiful in places all the way. The horses were brought up to the river by eleven A.M., and were with some difficulty got across; after which they were hobbled, and we camped for the night near the beach, in good gra.s.s.

June 9.

Mr. Kennedy, with Jackey and three others, left the camp this morning for the purpose of ascertaining the most practicable route for our carts.

During the day a great number of natives came around our camp, but appeared very friendly; they are a finer race of men than those usually seen in the southern districts of the colony, but their habits and mode of life seem very similar. They left us before dark, without making any attempt at plunder.

June 10.

Mr. Kennedy returned to the camp this evening; he still found the swamps were impa.s.sable, the water and mud lying on them in many parts, from three to four feet deep; there were patches of dry land here and there covered with good but coa.r.s.e gra.s.s.

We saw here large flocks of black and white ducks, making a whistling noise similar to some I have seen near Port Macquarie; Mr. Wall shot three of them, and they proved very good to eat, but they were not new, belonging to the genus Dendrocygna eytoni.

June 11.

We started early this morning and proceeded along the beach for three or four miles, when we came to another river, similar in its character to the one we crossed on the 8th, with low sandy banks, and dry bushy land on each side. We unloaded and hobbled our horses, and prepared our punt as before.

Near to this spot we came to a native encampment, consisting of eighteen or twenty huts of an oval form, about seven feet long, and four feet high; and at the southern end of the camp, was one large hut eighteen feet long, seven feet wide, and fourteen feet high. All of them were neatly and strongly built with small saplings stuck in the ground, arched over, and tied together at the top with small shoots of the climbing palm, which I have already described. They were covered with the bark of the large Melaleucas which grow in the swamps, fastened to the saplings with palm shoots. A small opening is left at one end, from the ground to the top, and the floors were covered with long dried gra.s.s.

The natives being absent from the camp, I entered the large gunyah, and found in it a large shield of solid wood, two feet in diameter, convex on one side, and flat on the other. The convex side was curiously painted red, in circular rings and crosses. On the flat side was a handle, cut out of the solid wood. In the same hut I found four wooden swords, three and a half feet long, and four inches broad, sharp at both edges, and thick in the centre, with a slightly curved, round handle, about six inches long. They were made of very hard wood, and were much too heavy to wield with one hand. I also found a number of fishing lines, made from gra.s.s, with hooks attached of various sizes, made from mussel sh.e.l.ls.

After I had carefully examined all these things, I left them where I found them. In the centre of the camp were four large ovens, for cooking their food. These ovens were constructed by digging a hole in the ground, about three feet in diameter, and two feet deep. The hole is then filled to within six inches of the top with smooth, hard, loose stones, on which a fire is kindled, and kept burning till the stones are well heated.

Their food, consisting princ.i.p.ally of sh.e.l.l and other fish, is then placed on the stones and baked.

There were no vessels in the camp in which they could boil anything, and it is my opinion, from what I afterwards saw of their habits, that their cookery is confined to roasting and baking. In the camp were several large sh.e.l.ls for holding water, and some calabashes, made by taking out the inside of a gourd, which grows plentifully near the camp. These calabashes would hold from one to three pints each.

June 12.

This morning Taylor endeavoured to cross the river with the rope for working our punt, but although an expert swimmer, and a very strong man, he was unable to do so, from the strength of the tide which was running out. We saw several natives fishing in the river from their canoes, which are about five feet long and one and a half feet wide, made of bark, with small saplings tied along the side, and are paddled with small pieces of bark held in either hand. We made signs to them to come to us, with which three of them complied. We made them understand that if they would take our rope across, and make it fast to a dead tree on the other side of the river, we would give them a tomahawk. They consented to undertake the task, and after great exertion succeeded in performing it, and received their reward, with which they seemed quite satisfied and highly pleased.

We succeeded in getting everything across this river by ten o'clock P.M., for the moon being up we would not stop till we had finished. Our horses we took about a quarter of a mile up the river, and they crossed where it was narrower and not so deep. Several natives, who had not yet seen our horses, a.s.sembled on the banks of the river to see them cross, and when they came out of the water commenced shouting to frighten them, continuing their noise for about twenty minutes. Seeing at length, however, that the beasts submitted to be led quietly along the beach, they came near the camp, and we made them a present of a few fish-hooks.

They returned to their camp before sunset.

The river we crossed this day was not so deep as either of the former ones. There is, apparently, a sandbank across all the rivers emptying themselves into Rockingham Bay, near the mouth, and this one formed no exception to the rule. The tide runs up very strongly, I should think from a mile and a half to two miles.

There is a mangrove swamp running up some distance on the northern side of the river, till it joins the freshwater swamps. There is not so much fresh water running out of this river as from the last, and fresh water is only procurable from the south side near the swamp--it being impossible to penetrate the scrub on the northern side to obtain it. At low-water the river is very shallow, with a muddy bottom.

June 13.

On our mustering this morning, Carpenter was missed from the camp. It was discovered that he had absconded during the night, carrying off with him a damper weighing about eleven pounds, two pounds of tea, and ten pounds of sugar. We had breakfast as quickly as possible, and Mr. Kennedy sent four men on horseback to scour the country around in search of him. They returned from an unsuccessful search, but had received intelligence from the blacks that he was not far off.

June 14.

A party went out early this morning, in search of Carpenter, and caught sight of him about two miles from the river, sharing his damper with the blacks. As soon, however, as he saw the party approaching, he decamped into the bush, and was again lost sight of. On coming up to the spot where he was seen, the bags in which he had carried away the tea and sugar were found; the sugar was nearly consumed, but the tea appeared untouched. In the evening Carpenter returned, and on begging Mr.

Kennedy's pardon, he was forgiven. Throughout the expedition he was of very little service, being, in fact, little better than an idiot.

This evening we saw a large alligator, about twenty feet long, rising to the surface of the water, close to our camp. He appeared to be attentively watching our sheep, which were feeding by the side of the river, on the Dolichos and Ipomoeas which were growing on the sand. The natives here had a great many dogs, which, towards evening, rushed on our sheep and drove them among the bushes in all directions. We had great difficulty in getting them together before dark.

June 15.

We proceeded inland two or three miles to the edge of the freshwater swamps, and camped there. Mr. Kennedy went with a party into the swamps to ascertain if it were possible to make a road for the carts to pa.s.s through. Wall and myself went out collecting specimens.

I found a beautiful species of Loranthus, growing on acacia trees, and producing on its long pendulous shoots abundance of beautiful scarlet flowers; the tube of the corolla was two inches long, with a very short limb, and the plant has lanceolate, glossy leaves. This most interesting parasite--covering the acacia trees--when in flower forms a most gorgeous sight; presenting a beautiful contrast to the dull foliage of the surrounding trees. I also found a scarlet pa.s.sionflower,* very beautiful, with three-lobed glaucous leaves; and a Nymphaea, (waterlily) growing in the waterholes and small creeks, producing large purple flowers, and peltate leaves; besides a number of other new and interesting plants. Mr.

Wall succeeded in obtaining a specimen of a beautiful little marsupial animal, resembling an opossum in form, but not larger than the common rat, the colour pure white, with very small black spots.

(*Footnote. Disemma coccinea. See Volume 1.)

Mr. Kennedy and party returned in the evening, after having been in the water up to their knees all day. He reported that it was altogether impossible to make a road.

June 16.

Mr. Kennedy and party proceeded again this morning to enter the swamps, but in a different direction, in the hope of finding some spot where a road might be made, but returned with no better success. This day we killed the best sheep we had yet slaughtered; it weighed 53 pounds, those we had previously killed weighed from 40 to 48 pounds; they did not keep fat, but up to this time we were enabled to fry all the meat, which mode of cookery was more speedy and convenient for us than boiling or any other way.

June 17.

We proceeded this evening along the edge of the swamps, crossing several small creeks. In many places the wheels of the carts sank to the axletrees in consequence of the rottenness of the ground near the creeks.

At length we camped, after travelling about five miles.

June 18.

This day was Sunday, and at eleven o'clock Mr. Kennedy a.s.sembled the whole party under the shade of some large trees and read prayers. This was a practice always persevered in when practicable, and unless for some very pressing reason, we uniformly set apart the Sabbath as a day of rest, such an interval from our toils being in fact absolutely necessary.

June 19.

Again Mr. Kennedy started this morning, accompanied by five men, into the swamps, determined, if possible, to find a road by which we might cross them, and get to the foot of the mountain ranges on the south. He remained out during this and the two following days. The natives appear to be very numerous in the neighbourhood of Rockingham Bay. There was an old camping-place with twelve or fourteen old huts near our camp, but it was not visited by the natives during our stay there. They generally came to look at us every day, but always kept at a distance; on some days we saw as many as from eighty to a hundred. The women and children always kept farther from us than the men; I think more from fear of our dogs and horses than of ourselves. The weather was cool, with showers occasionally during the day, and at night steady rain set in.

June 20.