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

Swan River I Determined On

Making This My Point Of Departure,  And After Diligent Enquiry I Finally

Hired The Lynher,  A Schooner Of About 140 Tons,  Henry Browse Master,  And

Subsequently Found Every Reason To Be Satisfied,  Both With The Little

Vessel And Her Commander.

 

Equipment And Plans. Sail For Hanover Bay.

 

My Time Was Now Wholly Occupied In Completing The Preparations For Our

Future Proceedings. I Increased My Party By A Few Additional Hands Of

Good Character,  And Thought Myself Fortunate In Engaging Amongst Them

Thomas Ruston,  A Seaman Who Had Already Served On The Australian Coast

Under Captain King. On The 12th October I With Great Difficulty Got My

Affairs At Cape Town So Arranged As To Be Able To Embark In The Evening,

And On The Morning Of The 13th We Hove Anchor And Made Sail.

 

The Party Now Embarked Consisted Of:

 

Lieutenant Grey.

Lieutenant Lushington.

Mr. Walker,  Our Surgeon.

Mr. Powell,  Surgeon.

Corporal R. Auger,  Corporal John Coles,  And Private Mustard Of The Corps

Of Sappers And Miners.

J.C. Cox,  A Stock-Keeper.

Thomas Ruston,  A Sailor Who Had Been On The Coast Of Australia In The

Mermaid With Captain King.

Evan Edwards,  A Sailor.

Henry Williams And R. Inglesby,  Shoemakers.

 

There Were Besides On Board A Captain,  A Mate,  Seven Men,  And A Boy.

 

The Livestock I Took From The Cape Consisted Altogether Of Thirty-One

Sheep,  Nineteen Goats,  And Six Dogs. The Dogs Were As Follows: One

Greyhound; One Dog Bred Between A Greyhound And A Foxhound; One Between A

Greyhound And A Sheepdog; A Bull-Terrier; A Cape Wolf-Dog; And A Useful

Nondescript Mongrel.

 

Re-Embarkation For Hanover Bay.

 

The Plan That I Had Finally Resolved On Adopting Was:

 

To Proceed In The First Instance To Hanover Bay,  There To Select A Good

Spot On Which To Form A Temporary Encampment; And,  Having Landed The

Stock,  To Despatch Lieutenant Lushington With Cox And Williams In The

Vessel To Timor For Ponies.

 

Plans On Landing.

Volume 1 Chapter 2 (To Bahia And The Cape Of Good Hope) Pg 23

 

I Selected Cox And Williams For This Service Because The Former Was Used

To The Management Of Horses On Board Vessels,  And The Latter

Understanding Dutch Was Well Calculated To Act As Interpreter At Timor.

During Their Absence I Intended To Practise The Party In Making Short

Explorations In Different Directions.

 

Upon The Return Of The Vessel I Intended To Move The Whole Party To Some

Convenient Spot To Be Chosen During Their Absence,  Then To Advance,

Attended Only By Coles,  And To Fix Upon The Next Spot On Our Route Which

I Designed To Halt At. This Plan I Intended To Adhere To As Much As

Possible Throughout The Whole Expedition,  Namely,  Never To Move The Party

From One Place Of Halt Until I Had Chosen The Next One. We Bore With Us

Tools And Instruments Of Every Description; So That We Not Only Were

Fully Capable Of Maintaining Ourselves But Could Literally,  If Occasion

Had Required It,  Have Founded The Nucleus Of A Colony.

 

Great Then Was My Joy When All My Preparations Were Completed And I Felt

The Vessel Gliding Swiftly From Table Bay Into That Vast Ocean At The

Other Extremity Of Which Lay The Land I So Longed To See,  And To Which I

Was Now Bound With The Ardent Hope Of Opening The Way For The Conversion

Of A Barren Wilderness Into A Fertile Garden.

 

Part Of My Plan Was Not Only To Introduce All Useful Animals That I

Possibly Could Into This Part Of Australia,  But Also The Most Valuable

Plants Of Every Description. For This Purpose,  A Collection Had Been Made

At Tenerife By Mr. Walker,  Under My Direction,  And Another In South

America,* Including The Seeds Of The Cotton Plant. From The Cape And From

England I Had Also Procured Other Useful Plants,  And Had Planned That The

Vessel,  On Quitting Timor With The Horses,  Should Be Filled In Every

Vacant Space With Young Cocoa-Nut Trees And Other Fruits,  Together With

Useful Animals Such As Goats And Sheep,  In Addition To The Stock We

Conveyed From The Cape.

 

Volume 1 Chapter 2 (Footnote) Pg 24

(*Footnote. We Had Been Able To Introduce Several Useful Plants Into The

Cape; Amongst Others The South American Yam,  Which,  Owing To The Quality

Of The Potatoes And Their Great Fluctuations In Price,  Will Eventually Be

Very Serviceable To The Colonists,  More Especially For The Use Of

Whalers.)

Volume 1 Chapter 3 (From The Cape Of Good Hope To Hanover Bay) Pg 25

Natural History.

 

Forster's Pachyptila (Pachyptila Vittata.)

 

Volume 1 Chapter 3 (From The Cape Of Good Hope To Hanover Bay) Pg 26

October 16.

 

I Shot A Female Petrel; It Had A Nail Planted In The Heel,  But No Thumb;

The Bill Was Hooked At The End,  The Extremity Of Which Seemed To Consist

Of A Distinct Piece,  Articulated With The Remainder; The Nostrils Were

United,  And Formed A Tube Laid On The Back Of The Upper Mandible,  Hence

It Belonged To The Family Of Petrels (Procellariae.)

 

Its Temperature Was 94 Degrees.

Length From Tip To Tip Of Wing,  2 Feet 3 Inches.

Length From Tip Of Beak To Tip Of Tail,  1 Foot 2.4 Inches.

Length From Root To Tip Of Tail,  4 Inches.

Length Of Beak,  1.45 Inches.

Length Of Foot,  1.55 Inches.

Breadth Across Body,  2.3 Inches.

 

Colour Of Beak And Legs Black; Body White Underneath; General Colour

Above,  A Light Bluish Slate,  Which Grows Darker In The Head And Wing

Covers; Tail Tipped With Black; The Four First Wing Feathers Tinged With

Black.

 

Cape Pigeons.

 

I Also Shot This Afternoon Three Cape Pigeons (Procellaria Capensis)

White Underneath,  Spotted Black And White Above.

 

First Specimen--Female.

 

Temperature,  98 1/2 Degrees.

Length From Tip To Tip Of Wing,  2 Feet 11.3 Inches.

Length From Tip Of Tail To Tip Of Beak,  1 Foot 6 Inches.

Length From Tip Of Beak,  1.5 Inches.

Length From Root To Tip Of Tail,4.1 Inches.

Length Of Foot,  2.3 Inches.

Breadth Across Body,  3.2 Inches.

 

Second Specimen.

 

Length From Tip To Tip Of Wing,  2 Feet 5 Inches.

Length From Tip Of Tail To Tip Of Beak,  1 Foot 5 Inches.

Length From Tip Of Beak,  1.5 Inches.

Length From Root To Tip Of Tail,  4 Inches.

Length Of Foot,  2.3 Inches.

Breadth Across Body,  3 Inches.

 

Third Specimen--Female.

 

Length From Tip To Tip Of Wing,  2 Feet 5.5 Inches.

Length From Tip Of Tail To Tip Of Beak,  1 Foot 4.6 Inches.

Length From Tip Of Beak,  1.3 Inches.

Length From Root To Tip Of Tail,  4.6 Inches.

Length Of Foot,  2.2 Inches.

Breadth Across Body,  3.4 Inches.

 

Volume 1 Chapter 3 (From The Cape Of Good Hope To Hanover Bay) Pg 27

Two Species Of Insects Were Found In These Cape Pigeons.

 

The Only Difference I Have Been Able To Observe Between The Male And

Female Of These Birds Is,  That The Male Has The Black Spots Of Rather A

Deeper Hue.

 

October 21. Latitude 38 Degrees 15 South; Longitude 35 Degrees 53 Minutes

East.

 

From A Variety Of Observations I Am Able To Bear Testimony To The

Correctness Of A Fact That Has Been Before Noticed,  Namely,  That The

Medusae Invariably Live In Families. This Single Circumstance Is

Remarkable In Connection With Other Points Of Natural History Since It

Will Tend To Explain The Reason Of Certain Classes Of Petrels

(Procellariae) Only Visiting Particular Parts Of The Ocean.

 

Sunday October 22. Latitude 37 Degrees 44 Minutes South; Longitude 38

Degrees 00 East.

 

Caught Two Small Animals,  One Closely Resembling A Small Shrimp (Penaeus)

But Having The Head Covered With A Most Beautiful Purple Shield. I Kept

This Alive In A Jug. The Other In Size And Appearance Exactly Like A

Purple Grape (Hyalea) With A Greenish Tinge At One Extremity Surrounding

An Aperture,  And A Distinct Aperture At The Other Extremity. It Was 0.4

Inches In Diameter,  And Had The Power Of Emitting A Phosphorescent Light.

I Have Since This Period Found Several Varieties Of This Animal; Which,

When It Expands Itself,  Closely Resembles An Insect,  And Has Little

Wings. Further On Will Be Found A Sketch Of These Animals In Their

Expanded State. (See Illustration Hyalea Figure 1.)

 

The Albatross (Diomedea Exulans).

 

We Caught Four Of These Birds Yesterday,  From Which I Made The Following

Measurements:

 

First Specimen. Weight,  19 1/2 Pounds.

 

Length From Tip Of Wing To Tip Of Wing,  10 Feet 2 Inches.

Length From Tip Of Beak To Tip Of Tail,  4 Feet 0.5 Inches.

Length Of Beak,  6.8 Inches.

Length From Root To Tip Of Tail,  10.0 Inches.

Length Of Foot,  7.6 Inches.

Length Of Wing,  4 Feet 8 Inches.

Height From Ground,  2 Feet 10 Inches.

Temperature 98 Degrees,  The Thermometer Placed Under The Tongue During

Life. These Measurements Were All Made During The Lifetime Of The Bird.

 

Second Specimen. Weight,  15 1/2 Pounds.

 

Length From Tip Of Wing To Tip Of Wing,  10 Feet.

Length From Tip Of Beak To Tip Of Tail,  3 Feet 11 Inches.

Length Of Beak,  6.6 Inches.