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

Of A More Melancholy Character,  For I

Feared That The Days Of Some Of The Light-Hearted Group Were Already

Numbered And Would Soon Be Brought To A Close. Amidst Such Scenes And

Thoughts We Were Swept Along,  Whilst This Unknown Coast,  Which So Many

Had Anxiously Yet Vainly Wished To See,  Passed Before Our Eyes Like A

Panorama Or A Dream,  And,  Ere Many Years Have Hurried By It Is Probable

That The Recollection Of This Day Will Be As Such To Me.

 

Boat Left Aground By The Tide.

 

March 25.

 

This Morning I Was Up Early In Order That We Might Lose No Time In

Getting Under Weigh; I Was Much Surprised However To Find Both Boats

Aground,  And When The Day Had Dawned Sufficiently To Enable Me To

Distinguish Surrounding Objects I Could Not Make Out The Sea,  But Found

That We Were Lodged In A Regular Mangrove Bush. I Walked A Few Yards To

Get A Clear View To The Westward And Found That We Were At Least A Mile

Inland,  So Far Does The Tide Run In Over This Low Level Shore. My Eyes

Were So Sore That I Could Scarcely See And I Therefore Did Not Attempt To

Make An Excursion Into The Country,  But Sent A Party For This Purpose,

Who Ascended The First Low Range Of Hills And Reported That The Country

As Far As They Could See To The Eastward Was A Succession Of Low Mud

Flats Subject To The Overflowings Of The Sea. There Was A

Promising-Looking Creek Immediately To The South Of Us.

 

The Tide Came Very Slowly In Until Ten O'clock,  Which Was About The Time

Of High-Water: But Here It Had Only Half Risen And Remained Stationary

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For Some Time,  When It Began To Ebb Again,  But Soon Meeting The Second

Flood,  Now Came Pouring Rapidly In,  And Just Before Sunset There Was

Water Enough For Us To Get Off. We Pulled To A Low Point,  Distant About

Two Miles,  And Which Bore South By East From Us; And Having Anchored Off

This Waited For The Morning Dawn To Pursue Our Voyage.

 

Continue A Southerly Course.

 

March 26.

 

In The Morning I Found That The Point We Were Anchored Off Ran South-East

And North-West: It Was About Two Miles Long And Formed A Low Spit Of Land

Whence The Coast Trended Due South. I Debated For A Few Minutes Whether I

Should Explore The Creek Which Lay To The South Of Us,  But Decided In The

Negative. Had I Followed My Own Wishes I Should Have Done So,  But The

Lives Of Others Now Depended On My Incurring No Unjustifiable Delay,  And

It Did Not Therefore Appear To Be Of Importance; Besides,  As We Had Now

Traced The Unknown Portions Of This Great Bay,  And Had Moreover

Discovered In It A Country In Every Way Fitted For Immediate Occupation,

And Which Indeed Appeared From Its Soil And Position To Be One Of The

Most Valuable Portions Of The Western Side Of The Continent,  I Thought

That Everything Worthy Of Any Great Risk Or Danger Had Been Accomplished,

And Resolved To Hurry Homewards.

 

Steer From The Main.

 

After Following The Coast For A Few Miles Further To The South I

Considered We Were Now Far Enough To Windward To Fetch Somewhere Near The

Centre Of Perron's Peninsula; I Therefore Made Sail And Steered For That

Point.

 

Another Gale Of Wind.

 

Our Passage Across Was A Long And Tedious One,  And When At Last Towards

Evening We Sighted Perron's Peninsula It Was Very Evident That My Boat

Would Not Do More Than Fetch The Very Northern Point,  But The Other Boat,

Which Was A Much Better Sailer,  Was Nearly A Mile To Windward Of Us. The

Weather Had Been For The Last Hour Or Two Very Threatening,  And We Had

Reached To Within Two Miles Of The Shore When The Wind Suddenly Shifted

To The South-West And Began To Blow A Terrific Gale. We Had Just Time To

Down Sail And Take To The Oars,  And As Every One Of The Crew Saw That His

Life Depended On It They Gave Way Strenuously. We Were Under The Lee Of

The Peninsula And Had It Not Been For This Circumstance Must Undoubtedly

Have Been Lost. That Gale Of Wind Was A Terrible And Magnificent Sight. I

Stood At The Steer Oar; The Waves Lifted The Boat Each Time Nearly

Broadside On,  And It Was All I Could Do To Bring Her Head Round In Time

To Meet The Next Sea,  But The Men Pulled Steadily. "Now Men,  Give Way For

Your Lives," I Called Out If They Flagged,  And Renewed Energy Was

Instantly Infused Into All Of Them. At Times We Could Not Hold Our Own

Against The Wind And Waves,  And At The Most Favourable Moments Seemed

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Merely To Stand Still. I Looked At The Shore Until My Eyes Ached; But No

Nearer Did It Appear To Be Than At First,  And Gradually Grew Less

Distinct As The Daylight Faded. We Could Only See The Other Boat Now And

Then; But Although She Was Evidently In Imminent Peril They Were Much

Nearer In Shore Than We Were. The Danger We Underwent On This Occasion

Was Great; But The Excitement Of So Wild And Grand A Scene Was Highly

Pleasurable,  And When Success At Last Crowned Our Exertions,  And We Went

Dancing Wildly In Through The Surf And Spray Upon A Rocky Unknown Shore,

And Found The Other Crew On The Beach Ready To Help Us In Hauling Up,  I

Felt That There Is A Charm Attached To Scenes Like These Which Can Only

Be Fully Estimated By Those Who Have Experienced It. Having In Our Turn

Assisted To Haul Up The Other Boat We Lighted Our Fires And Laid Down For

The Night.

 

Perron's Peninsula.

 

March 27.

 

This Morning I Found That All Our Hands Were So Fatigued By The Exertions

Of The Previous Day That A Few Hours Of Comparative Rest Was Absolutely

Necessary. I Therefore Directed Them To Stroll About The Beach For An

Hour Or Two And To Collect Oysters Or Shellfish. The Part Of Perron's

Peninsula Which We Were On Consists Of Abrupt Cliffs Of The Height Of

About Two Hundred Feet; At The Base Of These And Between Them And The Sea

There Is A Narrow Strip Of Sandy Land And Dunes,  And At Their Summit Is A

Barren Sandy Tableland,  Gently Sloping Away To The Southward And

Appearing To Extend Throughout The Whole Length Of The Peninsula.

 

As Soon As I Thought The Men Were Sufficiently Rested We Launched The

Boats,  But On Rounding The Northern Extremity Of The Peninsula Met A

Heavy Sea Running From The Southward And Were Obliged To Take To The

Oars. We Had Not Got More Than Two Miles To The Southward Of Cape Leseuer

When I Saw So Many Indications Of An Approaching Gale That I Ran In Again

And Beached The Boats; And This Operation Was Hardly Accomplished Ere It

Blew With Terrific Violence From The South-South-West. Both Here And At

Our Last Night's Encampment We Saw Numerous Signs Of Natives,  And Now

Found Several Native Wells In The Sandhills,  But Had No Occasion To Use

Them As We Had Regular Tropical Rain For The Rest Of The Day. The Men

Here Brought Me The Bones Of A Very Large Marine Animal Which They Had

Found At The Natives' Fire,  But I Could Not Recognise Them As Belonging

To Any That I Was Acquainted With. At This Period,  From Bad Food And

Being Constantly Wet With Salt Water,  We Were All Afflicted With Sores Of

The Most Painful And Annoying Character,  And These Much Increased The

Unpleasantness Of Our Situation.

 

Another Gale.

 

March 28.

 

This Morning The Weather Looked Tolerably Fine; I Therefore Ordered The

Boats To Be Launched And,  After Pulling A Few Miles To Windward Along

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Perron's Peninsula,  We Struck Across For Dirk Hartog's Island; Our Former

Ill-Luck However Still Attended Us,  For Just As We Were Making The Land

Another Fearful Gale From The South-South-West Came On,  And Had We Not

Had The Good Luck To Have Got Under The Lee Of The Coin De Mire Of The

French We Must Infallibly Have Been Wrecked; As It Was We Pulled Along

Under This Promontory And Beached The Boats In A Little Bay At Its

North-West Extremity. Nothing But Absolute Necessity Could However Have

Induced Me To Take Such A Step,  For The Place Was Rocky And Difficult Of

Access,  With A Heavy Surf Breaking On The Beach. The Rain Fell In

Torrents During The Greater Part Of The Evening,  And The Men Spent The

Time In Searching For Oysters And Shellfish With Which To Appease Their

Hunger. The Rain Which Had Fallen During The Last Two Days Had A Very

Injurious Effect Upon Some Of Us,  For,  Our Clothes Having Been Lost With

The Other Things Which Were Swept Away From The Depot During The

Hurricane Of The First Of March,  We Were Very Insufficiently Clad.

 

Dirk Hartog's Island.

 

March 29.

 

The Weather This Morning Being Very Foul I Occupied Myself In Making A

Survey Of A Portion Of Dirk Hartog's Island,  Which Is Of A Very Barren

Nature,  Though Rather Better Than Either Bernier Or Dorre Islands,  But

For Many Years To Come It Must Be Utterly Useless. It Looks Exactly Like

A Scottish Heath; And I Have No Doubt Whatever That Water Would Be Found

By Digging On It; But As We Could Have Obtained Plenty From Large Holes

In The Rocks We Did Not Make The Attempt. Whilst I Was Occupied In This

Examination Of The Island The Wind Shifted Suddenly To The North-West And

I Hurried Back To The Party In Order Not To Lose So Favourable An

Opportunity.

 

On Arriving At The Boats I Found That The Water Had Not Been Completed,

Nor Had Three Days' Provisions (Such As They Were) Been Cooked,  Although

I Had Left Orders When I Went Away That These Necessary Preparations For

Our Moving Should Immediately Be Made; This Gave Me Another Reason To

Suspect That,  During My Temporary Absence From The Party,  Discipline Was

Now Altogether Neglected,  And Indeed Treated As An Unnecessary Restraint

Under Existing Circumstances. Mr. Smith Had Warned Me That Such Was The

Case,  And