Journals Of Two Expeditions Of Discovery In North West And Western Australia Volume 1 (Of 2) by George Grey (read book txt) 📕

Searched Until After Sunset,  But Without

Success. We Found The Ravine Bounded Throughout Its Southern Side By

Inaccessible Cliffs. Occasionally Little Branch Ravines Ran Into It; But

On Penetrating For Some Distance Up These They Invariably Terminated In

Precipitous Cascades. A Great Portion Of This Afternoon Was Spent Up To

Our Middles In Water As We Waded About The Flooded Valley; And The Only

Thing We Had To Compensate Us For The Fatigue And Suffering We Underwent

Was The Wild Beauty Of The Scenery,  Which Was As Lovely And Picturesque

As Impetuous Torrents,  Foaming Cascades,  Lofty Rocks,  And A Rich Tropical

Vegetation Could Render It.

 

Natives.

 

On Our Return Homewards,  Wearied And Disappointed,  We Came Close Upon A

Large Party Of Natives Before They Were Aware Of Our Presence. Coles Had

Followed Me Up The Northern Bank Of The Ravine,  And We Thus Occupied A

Good Position; The Natives Had,  I Suppose,  Wished To Avoid Us,  For We Saw

No More Of Them,  But Merely Heard The Sound Of Their Retiring Voices As

They Moved Up The Centre Of The Valley. We Now Returned To The Men We Had

Left In Charge Of The Stores,  And Reached The Tent Soon After Dark.

 

Labour Of Tracing And Forming A Path.

 

February 7.

 

This Day Was Passed In Constructing The Pathway Which Was To Lead Us Down

Into The Deep Ravine In Our Front. Whilst The Men Were Thus Engaged I

Traversed The Country I Had Yesterday Visited In The Hope That I Might

Yet Find Some Outlet Into The Good Country Which Would Take Us Clear Of

The Others; But My Searches Were In Vain. Only One Man Accompanied Me,

And I Completely Knocked Him Up Ere The Evening Closed In Upon Us. We

Then Were Obliged To Retrace Our Steps To The Camp,  And I Now Found

Myself Perfectly Worn Out By The Fatigue Consequent On Such Continued And

Violent Walking Exercise Under A Tropical Sun.

 

It Was However Cheering To Me To See How Constantly Some Of The Men Had

Laboured At Forming The Road Down The Valleys Which Led Into The Ravine.

The Horses Had Been Brought Down Thus Far; But Three More Of Them Had

Died,  So That Our Twenty-Six Ponies Were Reduced To Nineteen,  Many Of

Volume 1 Chapter 7 (Hanover Bay And Its Vicinity) Pg 87

Whom Were In Wretched Condition.

 

Continued Difficulties Of Route.

 

February 8.

 

We Again Resumed Our Journey Towards The Interior; But The Pathway,  Which

Ran Through The Valleys Leading To The Summit Of The Ravine,  Was Still So

Broken And Difficult That The Ponies Could Only Carry Half Loads Along

It; And The Descent Down The Clifts Was So Steep That They Were Obliged

To Be Unladen And Led Into The Ravine Without Their Burdens,  Which Were

Carried Down Upon The Men's Shoulders. Men Could Not Have Behaved Better

Than They All Did On This Occasion,  Particularly Corporal Auger Who,

Possessing The Power Of Carrying On His Back Very Heavy Burdens,  Took

Every Occasion Of Exercising It In Such A Way As To Stimulate The Others,

And Very Much To Accelerate Our Movements.

 

But Even When We Had With So Much Labour Got Ponies,  Stores,  Etc. To The

Bottom Of The Ravine,  Our Troubles Had,  As It Were,  Only Commenced,  For

We Now Had To Get Out Of It On The Other Side. In The Course Of The

Afternoon However A Path Had Been Made,  And Most Of The Stores Were

Safely Stowed Upon An Elevated Tableland Where We Had Pitched The Tents.

The Place I Had Chosen For Our Camp Was A Pretty Spot; A Sweet,  Short

Herbage Had Been Raised By The Heavy Rains From The Sandy Soil,  And

Amongst This The Beauteous Flowers,  For Which Australia Is Deservedly

Celebrated,  Were So Scattered And Intermixed That They Gave The Country

An Enamelled Appearance. A Lofty Species Of Casuarina Was Intermingled

With Trees Of A Denser Foliage,  And On Each Side We Looked Down Into Two

Deep Ravines; Through The Dense Dark Foliage Of Which Could Be Seen The

White Foaming Waters Brawling On Their Way Far Below.

 

The Next Day Was Occupied In Bringing Up The Remainder Of The Stores From

The Ravine And Repairing The Damages Which Had Resulted From The Bursting

Of Bags And Other Mischief In Their Transit Over Such Rough Ground. Early

In The Morning We All Had A Good Bathe,  And Only Those Who Have Been So

Constantly Engaged Under A Burning Sun,  And For Upwards Of A Week Without

Regularly Washing Or Undressing,  Can At All Estimate The Pleasure With

Which I Plunged Into The Clear And Rapid Stream.

 

Ascent From The Ravine.

 

After Thus Performing Our Ablutions We Breakfasted,  And Then,  Whilst The

Stores Were Being Conveyed To The Tableland,  I Started,  Accompanied By

One Man,  To Explore A Route For Our Line Of March Next Day. After

Continuing On The Tableland For About A Mile I Traced A Good Route Both

Into And Out Of Another Ravine; The Stream Which Occupied The Bed Of This

Was So Swollen That I Had Some Difficulty In Finding A Ford Across It;

But After A Few Rather Ludicrous Plunges And Falls Upon The Green

Volume 1 Chapter 7 (Hanover Bay And Its Vicinity) Pg 88

Slippery Rocks I Succeeded In Detecting A Tolerably Good One. Our Line Of

Route Now Lay Across Some Elevated Open Plains,  Clothed With Spinifex,

And Thinly Wooded With A Large Species Of Eucalyptus. We Saw Here

Numerous Signs Of The Natives,  Who Had Been Cutting Steps In The Trees

For The Purpose Of Hunting Opossums. These Open Plains Extended For About

Two Miles,  And We Then Reached Another Small Ravine,  With A Rapid Stream

Running Through It. A Very Good Route Brought Us Across This Slight

Descent And Stream; And From This Point No Further Impediment Of Any

Consequence Appeared To Lie In Our Way. The Direction In Which I Now

Wished To Travel Presented A Series Of Rocky,  Sandy Plains,  Thinly

Wooded,  And Affording A Scanty Sufficiency Of Food For The Ponies.

 

Exhaustion From Fatigue. Cold Rains.

 

During The Time I Was Searching For This Route The Rain Had Fallen In

Torrents,  And The Quantity Of Ground I Had Walked Over Was So

Considerable That I Was Exhausted; Riding Was Quite Impossible In These

Excursions As,  In Many Places Where The Ground Was Covered With Loose

Rocks Overgrown With A Vegetation Which Concealed Treacherous Cavities,

It Was Necessary To Pass Across It Two Or Three Times Before I Could

Determine Whether A Horse Could Move Over It Or Not. Today I Found Myself

Completely Knocked Up,  And Felt Certain That I Could Not For Many Days

Longer Bear Up Against Such Continued Fatigues. On My Return To The Camp

I Found All Prepared For A Start Tomorrow; But Many Of The Horses Were So

Ill As To Be Incapable Of Carrying More Than Half A Load.

 

February 10.

 

We Moved Off At Daybreak And,  Having Reached The Ravine,  Set To Work To

Form A Pathway Down The Descent,  And Up The Ascent On The Other Side,

Under The Additional Disadvantage Of Heavy Rain. The Sudden Transition

From The Rays Of A Burning Sun To This Cold Bath Made My Teeth Chatter As

If I Had A Tertian Ague. When Half Our Work Was Completed We Breakfasted

In The Beautiful Ravine Amidst The Dark Luxuriant Vegetation Of The

Tropics,  Formed By The Pandanus,  Bamboo,  And Palm.

 

After Breakfast The Men Recommenced Their Labour On The Road. About Two

P.M. It Was Completed,  And We Then Loaded The Ponies And Set Out. The

Poor Animals Were However So Weak That It Was Almost Impossible To Get

Them To Move; They Stumbled And Fell Repeatedly,  And Thus Thereby Not

Only Injured Themselves But So Delayed Our Movements That We Only Made

Three Miles And A Half During The Day,  And Then Halted For The Night On

Very Elevated Land,  And In A Good Position,  For We Were On A Little Sandy

Rise,  Along The Base Of Which Ran A Stream,  Distant About One Hundred

Yards.

 

Worst Difficulties Surmounted.

 

Having Thus Gained The Elevated Plains I Laid Down To Sleep,  Satisfied

That The Worst Of Our Labours Were Over; Yet I Could Not But Recollect

That It Had Taken Us Ten Days To Reach A Spot Which By The Proper Route

Was Only A Short Day's Journey From The Valley We Were First Encamped In,

Volume 1 Chapter 7 (Hanover Bay And Its Vicinity) Pg 89

And That In Our March Through The Country We Had Been Compelled To

Traverse We Had Lost Seven Ponies,  And Injured Many Of Those Remaining;

All These Difficulties Arose From Our Departure Having Been Delayed So

Long That The Rains Had Set In And So Flooded The Country That We Could

Not Proceed By The Proper Route.

 

 

Volume 1 Chapter 8 (To The Glenelg River) Pg 90

Meeting And Encounter With The Natives.

 

February 11.

 

The Stores We Had Left Behind Yesterday Were So Necessary To Us That I

Was Fearful They Might Be Injured Or Destroyed If Left Exposed In The

Bush Beyond Today,  And Therefore Despatched A Party Under Mr. Lushington

For Them.

 

Some Time After They Were Gone I Started From The Encampment On Foot,

With The Intention Of Choosing A Track For Our Route Next Day,  As Well As

Of Endeavouring To Fall In With My Former Track In This Direction; For By

So Doing I Should Be Enabled To Get The Party On The Good Land Without

Further Impediment,  And At The Same Time To Complete My Map Of This Part

Of The Country.

 

Gathering Of Natives About The Camp.

 

I Was Accompanied By Corporal Coles And A Fine-Looking Young Man About

Twenty Years Of Age,  From The Cape Of Good Hope,