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

At The Earliest Dawn We Continued Our Course Up The Valley,  Which Rapidly

Became Narrower And More Inclined So That It Formed,  As It Were,  A Series

Of Elevated Terraces,  At The Edge Of Each Of Which Was A Little Cascade.

We Found Two Caves In The Cliffs On The Right Hand,  Both Of Which Were

Painted All Over But With No Regularity Of Pattern: The Only Colours Used

Were Red,  Yellow,  And White. The Largest Of The Caves Exceeded In Breadth

And Depth Any Others I Had Seen,  But It Was Only Three Feet High; In This

One There Were Several Drawings Of Fish,  One Of Which Was Four Feet In

Length; These I Copied,  Although They Were Badly Executed. The Caves

Themselves Cannot Be Considered As At All Analogous To Those I Have

Before Described.

 

Increasing Difficulties Of Route. Impassable Sandstone Ranges.

 

The Difficulties Of The Road Continued To Increase Rapidly,  And The

Dimensions Of The Ravine Became So Contracted That I Hesitated Whether I

Should Not Turn Up Another Which Branched Off To The Right; Previously

However To Taking This Step I Sent A Man Forward To Examine The One We

Were In; He Soon Returned And Reported That It Terminated In A High

Cascade A Few Hundred Yards Further On. This Intelligence Confirming My

Previous Opinion,  I Now Moved Up The Ravine Which Came From The Westward,

But We Had Not Proceeded For More Than Half A Mile When The Rugged Nature

Of The Country Brought Us To A Complete Stand; We Found Ourselves In A

Rocky Area,  Bounded On All Sides By Cliffs,  The Only Outlet From Which

Was The Path By Which We Had Entered. I Therefore Halted The Party For

Breakfast Whilst I Prepared To Ascend Some Lofty Pinnacles Which Lay To

The South Of Us.

 

The State Of My Wound Rendered This Exertion One Of Great Pain And

Difficulty; I However Accomplished It,  And Found Myself On The Top Of A

High Rocky Eminence Which Bore The Appearance Of Having Fallen Into

Ruins; The Prospect From It Was Cheerless In The Extreme; To The North

Lay The Rich Valley Country Far Below Us,  And To The South And East

Nothing Could Be Seen But Barren Sandstone Rocks And Ranges Rising One

Above The Other Until They Met The Horizon At No Great Distance From The

Eye; The Only Outlet,  Except The Ravine By Which We Had Approached,

Appeared To Be By The Westward,  And I Descended To The Party In This

Direction To See If I Could Find A Route From Where They Were To The

Terrace Leading To That Point. I Struck On A Place Up The Cliffs Where I

Imagined It Possible To Construct A Road By Which The Ponies Could

Ascend,  And Then Returned To Breakfast.

 

Country Inaccessible For Horses.

 

As Soon As Our Scanty Meal Had Been Concluded All Hands Were Employed In

Making This Road; And Sincerely Did I Pity The Feeble Men,  Whom I Saw In

The Burning Heat Of A Tropical Sun,  Which Was Reflected With Redoubled

Intensity From The Bare Sandstone Rocks,  Toiling To Displace Large Stones

Volume 1 Chapter 9 (To The Upper Glenelg) Pg 134

And Obstacles Which They Had Hardly Sufficient Strength To Move; Not A

Murmur However Escaped Them; They Saw The Necessity Of The Case And

Exerted Their Failing Energies As Readily As They Had Done When These

Were In Full Strength And Vigour. The Road Was At Last Made And We Moved

On To The Westward,  Toiling For The Remainder Of The Day Amongst Steep

Precipices Of Barren Sandstone Rocks And Hills,  Utterly Inaccessible To

Horses,  Till,  Finding Our Efforts To Proceed Useless,  I At Last Turned

The Party About And Halted Them For The Night Just Above Where We Had

Breakfasted; Intending With The Earliest Dawn To Renew My Search For A

Pass By Which We Might Cross This Mountain Range.

 

 

 

Volume 1 Chapter 10 (Return To Hanover Bay) Pg 135

Unsuccessful Search For A Pass.

 

March 31.

 

This Day At Dawn I Sent Out A Party Under Mr. Lushington And Mr. Walker

To Try If Any Pass Through The Mountains Could Be Found,  But They

Returned In Four Or Five Hours To Report That It Was Utterly Impossible

For Horses To Proceed Further In The Direction We Desired. During Their

Absence I Had Made A Careful Examination Of The Stores And Found That,

Even At Our Reduced Allowance,  We Had Only Provisions Left For Twenty

Days; Our Horses Were Also Reduced In Number To Twelve,  But These,

Excepting That Their Feet Were Sore,  Were Rather Improved In Condition

Than Otherwise Since The Commencement Of The Journey.

 

Causes For Returning.

 

My Intention Had Always Been,  When I Found Myself Reduced To Such An

Extremity As The Present,  To Proceed For A Few Days By Forced Marches

Towards The Interior,  Accompanied By Four Men,  And Then,  Returning To The

Remainder Of The Party,  To Have Taken All Together Back To The Vessel;

When There I Knew I Could Have Got Four Volunteers To Accompany Me And,

Having Loaded The Horses With Ammunition And Provisions,  I Had It In

Contemplation To Have Started With Them Again For Swan River. But These

Projects Became Now Impracticable From The Declining State Of My Health,

Consequent On Having Started Too Soon After Having Received My Wound,  To

The Exertions I Was Obliged Daily To Make Whilst Labouring Under Its

Effects,  And To The Want Of Those Comforts Which Contribute So Materially

To Restore An Invalid To Health. Our Allowance Of Food Too Had Been But

Scanty,  And,  Whilst I Fared As My Men,  Who,  Unshattered In Health,  Had

Yet Grown Thin And Weak Under Privation,  I,  In Proportion,  Had Suffered

Far More.

 

Preparations To Return.

 

Volume 1 Chapter 10 (Return To Hanover Bay) Pg 136

Mr. Walker,  Who Was Aware Of My Design,  Came To Me Today And Said He Felt

It His Duty To Recommend Me Without Delay To Return To The Vessel; That

As Long As He Thought The Risk I Ran Was No More Than He Considered A Man

Who Had Undertaken Such A Service Should Be Prepared To Incur,  He Had

Refrained From Pressing This Advice Upon Me,  But In My Present

Debilitated State Exposure Even For A Single Night Might Very Probably

Cost Me My Life. To This Opinion I Felt Constrained To Yield,  And Mr.

Walker,  Having At My Desire Repeated It In A Letter This Afternoon,  I

Arranged My Plans Accordingly.

 

Light Exploring Party Sent Forward Under Lieutenant Lushington.

 

The March In Advance,  Which,  Had My Health Permitted,  I Had Intended To

Make Myself,  Was Now Deputed To Mr. Lushington: Four Of Those Men Who

Remained The Strongest Of Our Enfeebled Band Were Selected For An

Excursion Of Three Days Under Him; After Which We Were To Return To The

Vessel.

 

April 1 And 2.

 

At Dawn On Sunday The 1st The Party Started; And These Two Days I

Occupied Myself In Making Magnetic And Astronomical Observations. Our

Latitude I Found By Two Meridian Altitudes Of The Moon To Be 16 Degrees 0

Minutes 45 Seconds South,  And Our Longitude By Chronometer 125 Degrees 11

Minutes East.

 

Report Of Advanced Party.

 

April 3.

 

Mr. Lushington's Party Came In At 12 O'clock This Day,  Reporting As

Follows: That They Proceeded About Eighteen Miles From The Camp Upon A

Course Of 195 Degrees From The North,  And The Remaining Half Upon A

Course Of 155 1/2 Degrees; That The Whole Of Their Route Lay Over A

Country Utterly Impassable For Horses Owing To The Steepness Of The

Hills; That They Crossed A Great Number Of Under-Features At Right Angles

To Their Route,  Between Which Lay Small Streams Flowing Away To The

Westward,  And Which Under-Features Were So Steep In Their Descent To The

Southward That,  In Going Down,  The Men Repeatedly Fell: Both Grass And

Water Were However Everywhere Abundant; And They Saw,  In The Spots Where

The Grass Was Most Luxuriant,  The Root Which I Found On The Hill At Our

First Encampment On The Good Land. The Last Point They Attained Was A

Lofty Hill Which Ran Out From A Range To The Eastward,  From Which Range

Sprang Also All The Under-Features That They Had Crossed. From This Hill

They Had An Extensive View To The Northward,  Eastward,  And Westward. The

Land They Saw To The Northward Is Laid Down Upon My Map.

 

Their Description Of The Country.

 

To The Eastward They Saw Nothing But Ranges Of Hills,  Precisely

Volume 1 Chapter 10 (Return To Hanover Bay) Pg 137

Resembling Those That We Had Crossed Since Entering This Mountainous

District; And To The Westward Others Of The Same Nature,  But Gradually

Falling In That Direction,  Whilst On The Other Hand The Land Seemed To

Rise Gently To The Eastward,  Though They Saw No Very High Hills In An

Easterly Direction. To The Southward Their View Was Impeded By A Very

High Bluff Point,  Distant Six Or Seven Miles,  And A Line Of Cliffs Under

Which They Conceived That A River Or An Opening Of The Sea May Run,  But

If So,  It Could Not Be A Stream Of Great Magnitude. Their View Of The

Base Of The Cliff Was However Impeded By The Under-Features Of The Hill

On Which They Stood. They Also Noticed,  As A Very Remarkable

Circumstance,  That There Were No Signs Of These Mountains Having Been

Visited By The Natives. The First Part Of Their Route Lay Over An

Extensive Plain,  Four Miles In Width,  Which Bore No Appearance Of The

Great Native Conflagrations Having Ever Reached It. This Was So Generally

The Case That,  When They Halted,  They Were Unable To Obtain A Sufficiency

Of Firewood. They Saw A Native Dog Of The Regular Australian Breed;

Kangaroos Were Abundant,  But These As Well