Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia Volume I Part 12

DETAINED BY NATIVES.

His story was that on going about six miles from the camp he lost his way, and fell in with the blacks, who detained him one day and two nights, but having at length effected his escape while they were asleep early on the second morning, he had made the best of his way towards the Gwydir, and thus reached the depot camp.

MR. WHITE CROSSES THE RIVER.

This day Mr. White crossed the river and examined the country for several miles beyond it, in search of the pine (or callitris) which we required for the completion of our boat, but he found none in that direction.

MARKS OF FLOODS ON TREES.

About three miles to the north of our camp he came upon a chain of large lagoons extending in a westerly direction, and the drift marks on trees showed that at some seasons a considerable current of water flowed there to the westward, rising occasionally to the height of ten or twelve feet above the surface of these lagoons. He also saw a kangaroo, a circ.u.mstance which indicated that higher forest land was not far distant.

Thermometer at six A.M. 67 degrees. Wind North-East high. Sky clear. At noon thermometer 87, clear sky.

We now looked with some anxiety for Mr. Finch's arrival and, in order to preserve our provisions as long as possible, I determined to make the abundance of fish available, by distributing fishing-hooks to the men, and to reduce their weekly ration of pork from 3 1/2 to 2 pounds.

In fishing we were tolerably successful; but flour was the article of which we stood most in need, and for this the country afforded no subst.i.tute, although I reduced the allowance of that also. The only starving members of the party were our unfortunate dogs, which had become almost too weak to kill a kangaroo--had any been seen there; neither did that region contain bandicoots which, in other situations, had been occasionally caught about dead trees, with the a.s.sistance of some of the watch-dogs. We were obliged to shoot hawks and crows, and boil them into a mess, which served, at least, to keep these poor animals alive.

January 29.

The cart was sent back about twelve miles for some of the callitris trees required for planking, none having been seen nearer to our camp.

MAN LOST IN THE WOODS.

William Woods, who had gone out in search of the spare cattle early in the morning, did not return by one P.M., and as he was a good bushman, we began to feel apprehensive that the natives had detained or perhaps killed him. I therefore proceeded in search with four men, and scoured the forest within five miles of the camp without discovering any traces either of the natives or of him. On returning however at sunset, we had the satisfaction to find that he had reached the camp about an hour before us, having during the whole day been unable to find his way back to our camp through the trackless forest.

Today the river fell another inch, and this failure of the waters, as upon the Namoi, added much to the irksomeness of the delay necessary for the completion of a boat. In the present case however more than on the Namoi, the expected arrival of Mr. Finch, and the exhausted state of our cattle, disposed me to give the party some days rest at so convenient a point, and towards which I had indeed looked forward with this view, in the efforts we made to attain it. The characters of my men were now better known to me, and I could not help feeling some sympathy for The Doctor, as the men called Souter. He was also what they termed a new chum, or one newly arrived. He left the mess of his fellow prisoners, and cooked and ate by himself. In figure he was the finest specimen of our race in the party, and as he lay by his solitary fire, he formed a striking foreground to the desert landscape. In his novitiate he was most willing to do anything his fellows required, and I felt often disposed to interfere when I overheard such words as "Doctor! go for a kettle of water, while I light a fire," etc. Worthington, in particular, I overheard, telling him he had been "a swell at home;" but a few days afterwards The Doctor came to me, stating that an immediate operation was necessary to save the life of Worthington, and demanding the dissecting instruments. On inquiry I found that this man, alias Five-o'clock, had a slight swelling in the groin, for which The Doctor's intended remedy, as far as I could make out, was an incision in the lower part of the abdomen. I gravely a.s.sured Five-o'clock that if The Doctor thought such an operation necessary it must take place, although I should defer lending him the instruments for a day or two. Thus I succeeded in establishing the importance of The Doctor's position, and we heard no more of his having been a swell--or of the swelling of Worthington who, on that pretext, seemed inclined to escape work.

January 30.

The cart returned with some fine timber which was soon placed on the saw-pit; meanwhile a stockyard for the cattle was erected on the higher ground.

NATIVES' METHOD OF FISHING.

No fish could be caught this day, and we supposed that the natives were busy taking them above and below our camp for, in their mode of fishing, few can escape. We had previously seen the osier nettings erected by them across the various currents, and especially in the Gwydir, where some had been noticed of very neat workmanship. The frame of each trellis was as well squared as if it had been the work of a carpenter, and the twigs were inserted at regular intervals, so as to form, by crossing each other, a strong and efficient kind of net or snare. Where these were erected a small opening was left towards the middle of the current, probably that some bag or netting might be applied there to receive the fish while the natives in the river above should drive them towards it.

The river continued still to fall during the day.

NATIVE DOG.

January 31.

The sky overcast. A good supply of fish caught in the morning. A small black native dog made its appearance about the camp, and was immediately run down and worried by our dogs. From the miserable mangey appearance of this animal I conjectured that it had belonged to the natives who were probably skulking about us, and who are very much attached to their dogs.

I was therefore very sorry that this poor animal had been killed; and that no traces might remain of our apparent want of kindness I ordered the body to be burnt, and gave positive instructions to prevent strange dogs being worried in future. This day we completed the planking of the boat.

MR. WHITE'S ACCOUNT OF THE RIVER.

February 1.

The night had been calm and close; and just before daybreak distant thunder resembling discharges of artillery was heard in the south-west.

The sun rose clear, but was soon obscured when the wind sprung up from the north-east. I sent Mr. White with a party of men down the river to clear away any trees likely to obstruct the boat, and to ascertain whether any other impediments appeared in the channel. On his return he reported that at the distance of some miles down the channel was filled with dead trees of considerable size; and that in another place the bottom consisted of flat rocks which occasioned a rapid or shallow of considerable length, over which our boat, being made of very heavy materials, could not be carried without considerable delay. This unpleasant intelligence, and the continued subsidence of the stream, determined me to explore its course with a party on horseback until I could ascertain whether it took the desired direction, namely, north-west; and whether at any lower point the channel improved so much as to enable us to relieve the cattle of part, at least, of their load, by carrying it in the boat. I was most desirous of leaving the cattle there, and some of the party, to await the arrival of Mr. Finch, while I continued our researches with the boat if we could possibly find water sufficient for the purpose. This method of proceeding was contemplated in my original plan on leaving Sydney, when I hoped to reach a navigable stream where the cattle might refresh for the return journey, until the party, thus enabled to extend its operations by water, might fall back on some such depot.

CHAPTER 1.5.

Excursion down the Karaula.

Its unexpected course.

Formidable insects.

Junction of the Gwydir.

Owls and Rats.

Natives at the camp during my absence.

Their attempts to steal.

Native dogs.

Tents struck to cross.

Arrival of Mr. Finch.

Murder of his men.

Loss of his horses.

And seizure of his stores by the natives.

Destroy the boat and retire from the Karaula.

Forced march to the Gwydir.

Numerous tribes surround the party.

Good effects of sky-rockets.

Funeral dirge by a native female.

Dog killed by a snake.

Numerous tribes follow.

The party regains the plains.

EXCURSION DOWN THE KARAULA.

February 2.

I left the camp with six men and four pack-animals, carrying nine days'

rations, and proceeded along the left bank of the newly-discovered river.

ITS UNEXPECTED COURSE.

I found the course much more to the southward than I had expected or wished. The stream separated into branches which re-united, and the channel was besides crossed in many places by large trees reaching from bank to bank. After pa.s.sing close by several southerly bends in following a bearing of 20 degrees south of west, I met the river crossing that line at rightangles. This was at a distance of 7 1/2 miles from the camp, and near the point where the water broke over a rock of ferruginous sandstone, interspersed with veins of soft white clay. The rock appeared to be stratified, and inclined to the north-east. At 4 1/2 miles further we again made the river on a bearing of south 10 degrees west after crossing a small plain and pa.s.sing through a scrub of tea-tree (or mimosa). Two miles beyond that part of the river we crossed the junction of a chain of ponds with it; and in proceeding on a bearing of 30 degrees east of south we crossed, when about two miles from that junction, another chain of ponds, apparently that on which we had encamped on the 22nd of January.

After riding about four miles beyond these ponds, according to the windings of the river, but chiefly towards the south, we encamped on a high point overlooking the stream, and where the gra.s.s was good. We here caught a large cod-perch, this being by far the best of the three kinds. .h.i.therto found by us. Lat.i.tude observed 29 degrees 12 minutes 3 seconds South.

February 3.

The course of the river compelled me to travel still further southward, which direction I accordingly pursued for seventeen miles, occasionally taking slight turns south-eastward, in order to avoid either the bends of the river, or hollows containing lagoons. One of these, which we arrived at after travelling about thirteen miles, was a very extensive sheet of water, a pleasing sight to us, still remembering how recently and frequently we had sought that life-sustaining element in vain. This latter had firm banks resembling the ancient channel of a river, although the bed was evidently much higher than the water flowing in the channel we were then exploring; and it was further remarkable in being contracted at one part by ma.s.ses of a very hard rock consisting of grains and small pebbles of quartz cemented in a hard ferruginous matrix, probably felspar.

FORMIDABLE INSECTS.

At seventeen miles we entered a plain where grew trees of the Acacia pendula, and we traversed it in the most elongated direction or to the south-west. On entering the wood beyond a sudden, extreme pain in my thigh made me shout before I was aware of the cause. A large insect had fastened upon me, and on looking back I perceived Souter, The Doctor, defending himself from several insects of the same kind.* He told me that I had pa.s.sed near a tree from which their nest was suspended; and it appeared that this had been sufficient to provoke the attack of these saucy insects, who were provided with the largest stings I had ever seen.

The pain I felt was extreme, and the effect so permanent that when I alighted in the evening from my horse on that leg, not thinking of the circ.u.mstance, I fell to the ground, the muscles having been generally affected. The wound was marked by a blue circular spot as large as a sixpence for several months.

(*Footnote. Genus, Vespa; subgenus, Abispa; species, Abispa australiana (mihi). Head, antennae, and feet yellow; eyes black; the scutellum of prothorax yellow; the scutum of mesothorax black, with the scutellum yellow; the scutum of metathorax yellow, with the scutellum black, and the axillae yellow. The wings yellow, with dusky tips. The first segment of abdomen has the petiole black. The second segment is black, and the rest yellow.)

Beyond the wood a magnificent sheet of water lay before us and extended like a n.o.ble river in a north and south direction. Keeping its eastern bank I traced it southwards until I reached the termination, or rather an interval, where some rocks occurred in its bed, of the same kind as those last mentioned. The produce of gradual decomposition lay around the rocks and seemed to prove that although these ma.s.ses had been originally denuded by the current which formed the channel, the current had not flowed there for a very considerable time. We encamped between the two lagoons, separated by this interval and these rocks, in lat.i.tude 29 degrees 27 minutes 27 seconds South.