Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia Volume II Part 4

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 p.r.i.c.kly 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 pa.s.sed 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 pa.s.sed 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 pa.s.sed 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 circ.u.mstances; 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 gra.s.s-trees. The scrub was however still thick, p.r.i.c.kly, 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 peris.h.i.+ng 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 pa.s.s 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 gra.s.sy 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 quant.i.ty 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 p.r.i.c.kly 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 DESt.i.tUTION 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 c.o.c.katoos 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 circ.u.mstances 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 pa.s.sed 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 dest.i.tute 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 peris.h.i.+ng 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: