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diff --git a/old/12146.txt b/old/12146.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..513bdf6 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12146.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16181 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Discoveries in Australia, Volume 2, by John Lort Stokes + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Discoveries in Australia, Volume 2 + Discoveries In Australia; With An Account Of The Coasts And Rivers + Explored And Surveyed During The Voyage Of H.M.S. Beagle, In The + Years 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43. By Command Of The Lords Commissioners + Of The Admiralty. Also A Narrative Of Captain Owen Stanley's Visits + To The Islands In The Arafura Sea + + +Author: John Lort Stokes + +Release Date: April 25, 2004 [EBook #12146] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DISCOVERIES IN AUSTRALIA, VOLUME 2 *** + + + + +Produced by Sue Asscher + + + + +DISCOVERIES IN AUSTRALIA; + +WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE + +COASTS AND RIVERS + +EXPLORED AND SURVEYED DURING THE + +VOYAGE OF H.M.S. BEAGLE, + +IN THE YEARS 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43. + +BY + +COMMAND OF THE LORDS COMMISSIONERS OF THE ADMIRALTY. + +ALSO + +A NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN OWEN STANLEY'S VISITS + +TO THE + +ISLANDS IN THE ARAFURA SEA. + +BY + +J. LORT STOKES, + +COMMANDER, R.N. + + +VOLUME 2. + + +LONDON: +T. AND W. BOONE, 29, NEW BOND STREET. + +1846. + + +CONTENTS OF VOLUME 2. + + +CHAPTER 2.1. + +Leave Port Essington. +Clarence Strait. +Hope Inlet. +Shoal Bay. +Ian for Observations. +Explore a new Opening. +Talc Head. +Port Darwin. +Continue Exploration. +Mosquitoes and Sandflies. +Nature of the Country. +Its parched appearance. +Large ant's nest. +Return to Shoal Bay. +Visit from the Natives. +Remarks. +Their teeth perfect. +Rite of Circumcision. +Observations on the Migrations of the Natives. +Theory of an Inland Sea. +Central Desert. +Salt water drunk by Natives. +Modes of procuring water. +Survey the harbour. +Natives on a raft. +Anecdote. +Bynoe Harbour. +Well. +Brilliant Meteors. +Natives on Point Emery. +Their surprise at the well. +Importance of water. +Anecdote. +Languages of Australia. +Specimens. +Remarks. +Leave Port Darwin. +Tides. +Squall. +Visit Port Patterson. +Leave. +Examine opening to the south-west. +Table Hill. +McAdam Range. +Adventure with an Alligator. +Exploring party. +Discovery of the Victoria. +Ascend the river. +Appearance of the Country. +Fitzmaurice River. +Indian Hill. +The Beagle taken up the river. + + +CHAPTER 2.2. + +Exploration of the Victoria. +First appearance of Sea Range. +Curiosity Peak. +Appearance of Country from. +Whirlwind Plains. +Encounter with an Alligator. +His capture and description. +Cross Whirlwind Plains. +White and black ducks. +Kangaroos. +Enter hilly country. +Meet the boats. +Thunderstorm. +Carry boats over shoals. +New birds. +Reach Hopeless. +Progress of boats arrested. +Reconnoitre the river. +Prospect from View Hill. +Preparation for pedestrian excursion. +Leave Reach Hopeless to explore the upper part of the river. +Native village. +Squall. +Mussel Bend. +Meet Natives. +Successful fishing. +Party distressed. +Thirsty Flat. +Tortoise Reach. +Singular appearance of the ranges. +Effect of the great heat. +One man knocked up. +Approach of natives. +Preparation for defence. +Appearance of the natives. +Move further up the river. +Emu Plains. +Select position for night quarters. +Upward course of the Victoria. +Commence return. +Kangaroo shot. +Wickham Heights. +New Tortoise. +Lucky Valley. +Race was with a native. +Meet his tribe. +They make off. +Hard day's work. +Quarters for the night. +Return to Reach Hopeless. + + +CHAPTER 2.3. VICTORIA RIVER. + +Proceed down the river from Reach Hopeless. +Meet watering party. +One of the men deserts. +Kangaroo shooting. +The writer left to complete survey of river. +Silk cotton-tree. +Fertility of Whirlwind Plains. +Attempt of one of the crew to jump overboard. +Reach the Ship. +Suffer from sore eyes. +Lieutenant Emery finds water. +Geological specimens. +Bird's Playhouse. +Tides. +Strange weather. +Range of Barometer. +Accounted for by proximity of Port Essington. +Hurricane. +Effects of the latter. +Dreary country behind Water Valley. +Fruitless attempt to weigh ship's anchors. +Obliged to slip from both of them. +Proceed down the river. +Complete survey of Main Channel. +Visit south Entrance Point of river. +Discover a number of dead turtles. +Cross over to Point Pearce. +Mr. Bynoe shoots a new finch. +The Author speared. +Pursued by natives. +Escape. +Flight of natives. +Armed party pursue them. +Night of suffering. +General description of the Victoria. +Gouty-stem tree and fruit. + + +CHAPTER 2.4. VICTORIA RIVER TO SWAN RIVER. + +Leave Point Pearce. +Error in position of Cape Rulhieres. +Obtain soundings on supposed Sahul Shoal. +Discover a shoal patch on it. +Ascertain extent of bank of soundings off the Australian shore. +Strange winds in Monsoon. +See Scott's Reef. +Discover error in its position. +Make Depuch Island. +Prevalence of westerly winds near it. +Sperm whales. +Tedious passage. +Death and burial of the ship's cook. +Anecdotes of his life. +Good landfall. +Arrival at Swan River. +Find Colony improved. +Hospitality of Colonists. +Lieutenant Roe's account of his rescuing Captain Grey's party. +Burial of Mr. Smith. +Hurricane at Shark's Bay. +Observations on dry appearance of Upper Swan. +Unsuccessful cruise of Champion. +Visit Rottnest. +Fix on a hill for the site of a Lighthouse. +Aboriginal convicts. +Protectors of natives. +American whalers. +Miago. +Trees of Western Australia. +On the safety of Gage Roads. + + +CHAPTER 2.5. + +Sail from Swan River. +Search for the supposed Turtle-dove Shoal. +Approach to Houtman's Abrolhos. +Find an anchorage. +View of the Lagoon. +Guano. +Remnants of the wreck of the Batavia. +Pelsart Group. +Visit the Main. +Geelvink Channel. +Enter Champion Bay. +Appearance of the Country. +Striking resemblance of various portions of the coast of Australia. +Leave Champion Bay. +Coast to the northward. +Resume our examination of the Abrolhos. +Easter Group. +Good Friday Harbour. +Lizards on Rat Island. +Coral formation. +Snapper Bank. +Zeewyk Passage. +Discoveries on Gun Island. +The Mangrove Islets. +Singular Sunset. +Heavy gale. +Wallaby Islands. +Flag Hill. +Slaughter Point. +Observations of Mr. Bynoe on the Marsupiata. +General character of the reefs. +Tidal observations. +Visit North Island. +Leave Houtman's Abrolhos. +General observations. +Proceed to Depuch Island. +Drawings on the rocks. +Native youth. +New bird and kangaroo. +Effects of Mirage. +Examine coast to the Turtle Isles. +Geographe Shoals. +Number of turtles. +Bedout Island. +Scott's Reef. +Approach to Timor. +Pulo Douw. +Scene on entering Coepang Bay. +Surprise of Swan River native. +Visit to the Resident. +His stories. +Fort Concordia. +Second visit to the Resident. +The Timorees. +Arrive at Pritie. +Description of the country. +Muster of the shooting party. +Success of the excursion. +The Javanese Commandant. +Character of the Timorees. +Dutch settlement in New Guinea. +Leave Coepang. +Island of Rottee. +Tykal Inlet. +Inhabitants of Polo Douw. + + +CHAPTER 2.6. + +Sail from Rottee. +Search for shoal. +Dampier's Archipelago. +Examination of coast. +Strange weather. +Natives. +Passage between Delambre and Huiy Islands. +Proceed to Montebello Isles. +Description of them. +Barrow's Island. +Tryal Rocks. +New kangaroo. +Abundance of turtle. +New wallaby. +Sail for Swan River. +Find Ritchie's Reef. +Islands between Barrow's and North-West Cape. +Table of soundings. +Swan River Native. +Anchor under Rottnest. +Vocabulary. +Erect beacons. +Bad weather. +Habits of a native dog. +Geological observations. +Sail from Swan River. +Error in position of Cape Naturaliste. +King George's Sound. +Appearance of Bald Head. +Princess Royal Harbour. +Origin of settlement. +Town of Albany. +Salubrity of climate. +Excursion into interior. +Course a kangaroo. +Pitfalls. +Herds of kangaroos. +Rich country. +The Hay River. +Return to Albany. +Departure for South Australia. +Discover an Island. +Death of a seaman. +Position of Neptune Isles. +Kangaroo, Althorp and Quoin Islands. +Holdfast Road. +Adelaide. +Description of country. +Governor Gawler's policy. +Visit the Port. +Mr. Eyre's expedition. +Hardships of Overlanders. +Cannibalism. +Meet Captain Sturt. +Native schools. +System of education. +Sail for Sydney. +Squalls. +Error in coast. +Bass Strait. +Arrive at Sydney. + + +CHAPTER 2.7. + +Land Sales. +Unsettled boundaries. +New Zealand. +Hunter River. +Midnight alarm. +Ludicrous scene. +Changes in Officers of ship. +Leave Sydney. +Port Stephens. +Corrobory. +Gale at Cape Upstart. +Magnetical Island. +Halifax Bay. +Astonish a Native. +Description of country. +Correct chart. +Restoration Island. +Picturesque arrival. +Interview with the Natives from Torres Strait. +Their weapons. +Shoal near Endeavour River. +Discover good passage through Endeavour Strait. +Booby Island. +New birds. +The Painted Quail. + + +CHAPTER 2.8. GULF OF CARPENTARIA. + +Leave Booby Island. +Eastern shore of Gulf. +Van Diemen's Inlet. +Exploration of. +Party of Natives. +Level country. +Tides. +Visit Bountiful Islands. +Description of them. +Sail for Sweers Island. +Investigator Road. +Natives. +Locusts. +Record of the Investigator's visit. +Dig a well. +Boats explore island and coast to the westward. +Sweers and Bentinck Islands. +Tides. +Take ship over to the main. +Another boat expedition leaves. +Ship proceeds to the head of the Gulf. +Discovery and exploration of Disaster Inlet. +Narrow escape. +Description of Interior. +Wild Fowl. +Explore coast to the eastward. +Inlets. +Discover the Flinders. +The Cuckoo. +Ascent of the river. +Night scene. +Burial tree. +Remarks. +Return to the ship. +Exploration of south-western part of Gulf. +Large inlets discovered. + + +CHAPTER 2.9. GULF OF CARPENTARIA. + +Boat expedition. +Explore an opening. +Discovery of the Albert. +Natives. +Picturesque Scenery. +Hope Reach. +Birds and Fishes. +Upper Branch. +Beauty of the Landscape. +Land excursion. +The Plains of Promise. +Halt the party and proceed alone. +Description of the country. +Return down the Albert. +Mouth of River. +Arrive at Van Diemen's Inlet. +Find Mr. Fitzmaurice severely wounded. +General result of the survey of the Gulf. +Winds and Temperature. +Booby Island. +Endeavour Strait. +Reach Port Essington. + + +CHAPTER 2.10. INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. + +Leave Port Essington. +Dobbo Island. +Visit from the Schoolmaster. +Church. +Trade of the Arrou Islands. +Their productions. +Visit from Natives. +The Banda Group. +Penal Settlement. +Adventures of a Javanese. +Captain de Stuers. +Native dance and sports. +Nutmeg Plantations. +Mode of preserving the fruit. +Amboyna. +Visit a natural grotto. +Sail from Amboyna. +Island of Kissa. +Village of Wauriti. +Missionary establishment. +Serwatty Group. +Return to Port Essington. + + +CHAPTER 2.11. PORT ESSINGTON AND THE NORTH-WEST COAST. + +Appearance of Settlement. +Effects of climate. +Native mother. +Trade in teeth. +Macassar Proas. +Lieutenant Vallack visits the Alligator Rivers. +Interview with Natives. +Prospects of Port Essington. +Lieutenant Stewart's Route. +Climate. +Remarks of Mr. Bynoe. +Harbour of refuge. +Sail from Port Essington. +Sahul Shoal. +Arrive at Coepang. +Timorees. +Sail for North-west Coast. +Strong winds. +Cape Bossut. +Exploration of North-west Coast. +View of Interior. +Birds. +Solitary Island. +Visit the Shore. +Amphinome Shoals. +Bedout Island. +Breaker Inlet. +Exmouth Gulf. +Arrive at Swan River. + + +CHAPTER 2.12. + +Reported Harbour. +Set out for Australind. +The Grass-tree. +Correspondence with Mr. Clifton, etc. +Sail from Gage Road. +Examination of coast. +Reach Champion Bay. +Visit Mount Fairfax and Wizard Peak. +Arid nature of country. +Want of water. +Native Grave. +The Greenough river. +Natives. +Leave Champion Bay. +Koombanah Bay. +Naturaliste Reef. +Reach South Australia. +Port Adelaide. +Proposed Railroad. +Visit Mount Barker. +Encounter Bay. +Native fishing. +Return to Adelaide. +Sail from South Australia. +Portland Bay. +Squatters. +Tour in the interior. +Fertile country. +View from the Sugarloaf. +Visit Cape Bridgewater. +Sail for Hobart. +Liberality of Sir John Franklin. +Atmospheric changes. +Arrive at Sydney. + + +CHAPTER 2.13. + +Exploration of Interior. +Twofold Bay. +Survey of Bass Strait. +Dangerous situation of the Beagle. +Kent and Hogan Groups. +Gipps Land. +Wilson's Promontory. +The Tamar. +Eastern entrance of Strait. +Steam communication between India and Australia. +New Guinea. +Straitsmen. +North coast of Tasmania. +Aborigines. +Port Phillip. +Directions for ships passing King Island. +Complete survey of Bass Strait. +Farewell to Sydney. +Moreton Bay. +The Comet. +State of Tasmania, or Van Diemen's Land. +Lighthouses in Bass Strait. + + +CHAPTER 2.14. AUSTRALIA TO ENGLAND. + +Sail from Tasmania. +The South-west Cape. +Monument to Flinders. +Rottnest Island. +Lighthouse. +Penal Establishment. +Longitude of Fremantle. +Final departure from Western Australia. +Rodrigue Island. +Effects of a hurricane at Mauritius. +The crew and passengers of a foundered vessel saved. +Bourbon. +Madagascar. +Simon's Bay. +Deep sea soundings. +Arrival in England. +Take leave of the Beagle. +The Surveying service. + +... + + +APPENDIX. +WINDS AND WEATHER ON THE WESTERN AND NORTHERN COASTS OF AUSTRALIA. +BY COMMANDER J.C. WICKHAM, R.N. + + +LIST OF CHARTS. + +VOLUME 2. + +VICTORIA RIVER. + +GULF OF CARPENTARIA. + +ALBERT RIVER. + +PART OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA. + +PORT ADELAIDE AND HOLDFAST BAY. + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + +VOLUME 2. + +MESSRS. FITZMAURICE AND KEYS DANCING FOR THEIR LIVES. +L.R. Fitzmaurice, del. +London, Published by T. & W. Boone, 1846. + +FIRST APPEARANCE OF SEA RANGE. + +HEAD AND FEET OF ALLIGATOR. + +KILLING AN ALLIGATOR, VICTORIA RIVER. +G. Gore, del. +London, Published by T. & W. Boone, 1846. + +WICKHAM HEIGHTS FROM TORTOISE REACH. + +CAPTAIN STOKES SPEARED AT POINT PEARCE. +C. Martens, del. +London, Published by T. & W. Boone, 1846. + +GOUTY-STEM TREE. + +FRUIT OF GOUTY-STEM TREE. +Section of fruit, showing the manner in which the seeds are disposed. + +VIEWS OF MORESBY'S RANGE, SEA RANGE, AND CAPE BEDFORD. +Moresby's Range, West Coast, latitude 28 degrees 50 minutes South. +Sea Range, Victoria River, North-west Coast, latitude 15 degrees 20 + minutes South. +Cape Bedford, North-east Coast, latitude 15 degrees 10 minutes South. + +ANCIENT DUTCH GUN. +Dutch Four-pounder, with moveable chamber. + +NATIVE DRAWINGS. +Lithographic impression of the copies made by Captain Wickham of the + native drawings on Depuch Island. They have already appeared in the Royal +Geographical Journal Volume 12. The following list will convey to the + reader what the drawings are intended to represent. +1. A goose or duck. +2. A bird; probably the leipoa. +6. A beetle. +11. A fish over a quarter-moon; which has been considered to have some + reference to fishing by moonlight. +61. A native dog. +16. A native, armed with spear and wommera, or throwing stick, probably + relating his adventures, which is usually done by song, and accompanied + with great action and flourishing of weapons, particularly when boasting + of his prowess. +20. A duck and a gull. +34. A corrobory, or native dance. +65. A crab. +30. A native in a hut, with portion of the matting with which they cover + their habitations. +67. A kangaroo. +71. Appears to be a bird of prey, having seized upon a kangaroo-rat. +32. Shark and pilot-fish. + +COEPANG FROM THE ANCHORAGE. +G. Gore, del. +London, Published by T. & W. Boone, 1846. + +PASSING BETWEEN BALD HEAD AND VANCOUVER REEF. +G. Gore, del. +London, Published by T. & W. Boone, 1846. + +ENTRANCE OF VAN DIEMEN'S INLET. +G. Gore, del. +London, Published by T. & W. Boone, 1846. + +INTERESTING TREE. + +BURIAL REACH, FLINDERS RIVER. +G. Gore, del. +London, Published by T. & W. Boone, 1846. + +UPWARD VIEW OF HOPE REACH, ALBERT RIVER. +G. Gore, del. +London, Published by T. & W. Boone, 1846. + +FIRST VIEW OF THE PLAINS OF PROMISE, ALBERT RIVER. +G. Gore, del. + +LAST VIEW OF THE PLAINS OF PROMISE, ALBERT RIVER. +G. Gore, del. +London, Published by T. & W. Boone, 1846. + +APPROACH TO PORTLAND BAY. +Cape Nelson, Cape Grant, Lawrence Isles East-North-East nine miles. + +DANGEROUS SITUATION OF BEAGLE. +A.J. Mason Sc. + +DEVIL'S TOWER. +350 feet high, West, two miles. + +KILLING A KANGAROO. +A.J. Mason Sc. + +HUMMOCK ISLAND. +Highest part 400 feet, bearing South-East 20 miles. + +... + + + +JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. + + +CHAPTER 2.1. + +Leave Port Essington. +Clarence Strait. +Hope Inlet. +Shoal Bay. +Land for Observations. +Explore a new Opening. +Talc Head. +Port Darwin. +Continue Exploration. +Mosquitoes and Sandflies. +Nature of the Country. +Its parched appearance. +Large ant's nest. +Return to Shoal Bay. +Visit from the Natives. +Remarks. +Their teeth perfect. +Rite of Circumcision. +Observations on the Migrations of the Natives. +Theory of an Inland Sea. +Central Desert. +Salt water drunk by Natives. +Modes of procuring water. +Survey the harbour. +Natives on a raft. +Anecdote. +Bynoe Harbour. +Well. +Brilliant Meteors. +Natives on Point Emery. +Their surprise at the well. +Importance of water. +Anecdote. +Languages of Australia. +Specimens. +Remarks. +Leave Port Darwin. +Tides. +Squall. +Visit Port Patterson. +Leave. +Examine opening to the south-west. +Table Hill. +McAdam Range. +Adventure with an Alligator. +Exploring party. +Discovery of the Victoria. +Ascend the river. +Appearance of the Country. +Fitzmaurice River. +Indian Hill. +The Beagle taken up the river. + +LEAVE PORT ESSINGTON. + +Early on the morning of the 4th of September, 1839, the Beagle was once +more slipping out of Port Essington before a light land wind. We had +taken a hearty farewell of our friends at Victoria, in whose prosperity +we felt all the interest that is due to those who pioneer the way for +others in the formation of a new settlement. No doubt the hope that our +discoveries might open a new field for British enterprise, and contribute +to extend still more widely the blessings of civilization, increased the +sympathy we felt for the young colony at Victoria. There is always a +feeling of pride and pleasure engendered by the thought that we are in +any way instrumental to the extension of man's influence over the world +which has been given him to subdue. In the present instance, the success +of our last cruise and the state of preparation in which we were now in +for a longer one, caused us to take our departure from Port Essington in +far higher spirits than on the former occasion. + +PASS THROUGH CLARENCE STRAIT. + +We again shaped our course for Clarence Strait, the western entrance of +which was still unexamined. The wind, however, being light, we passed the +night in Popham Bay; and on leaving next morning, had only six fathoms in +some tide ripplings nearly two miles off its south point, Cape Don. We +passed along the south side of Melville Island, where a large fire was +still burning. Early in the evening we anchored in seven fathoms, to wait +for a boat that had been sent to examine a shoal bay on the North-West +side of Cape Keith. Green Ant Cliffs bore South-West two miles. + +September 7. + +Weighing at daylight we hauled up south, into the middle of the channel, +crossing a ridge of 5 1/2 fathoms; Ant Cliffs bearing West-South-West +five miles, and three or four from the shore. This ridge appears to be +thrown up at the extremity of the flats fronting the shore. On deepening +the water to 10 and 12 fathoms, the course was changed to West 1/2 South, +passing midway between North Vernon Isle and Cape Gambier, where the +width of the channel is seven miles, though the whole of it is not +available for the purposes of navigation, a long detached reef lying +three miles from the Cape, and a small one two miles from the North +Vernon Isle.* The tide hurried the Beagle past between these reefs with +some rapidity, the soundings at the time being 19 fathoms. + +(*Footnote. These isles, three in number, lying quite in the centre of +the western entrance of the Strait, are fringed with extensive coral +reefs. There are, however, deep passages between them.) + +Having cleared Clarence Strait, and found it to be perfectly navigable +with common precaution (which in a slight degree enhanced the value of +the discovery of the Adelaide) our course was directed for a bay to the +southward, which Captain King had not examined. A very refreshing cool +north-westerly seabreeze* had just succeeded a short calm. Passing four +miles from the western extremity of the Vernon Isles, we had irregular +soundings of ten and seven fathoms. The ripplings and discoloured water +are a warning that they should be approached with caution on this side. + +(*Footnote. The seabreeze prevailing from the westward through Clarence +Strait, the passage to Port Essington from the westward, during the +easterly monsoon, might be more easily made by passing through it, +instead of working along the north side of Melville Island.) + +The mouth of a considerable inlet came in sight at the head of a bay as +we advanced towards it, steering South by East. This opening began to +appear of consequence as we drew near, although the singularly gradual +decrease in the soundings, on a sandy bottom materially diminished the +probability of its being the mouth of a river. Still, when we anchored as +near as we could approach, there remained a hope of its being so. + +HOPE INLET. SHOAL BAY. + +September 8. + +Early in the morning Mr. Forsyth and myself started to explore the +opening. We soon discovered that it was nothing more than a shallow creek +at low-water. The tide here rising twenty feet, gave it the important +appearance it had yesterday evening. A tall clump of naked trees was +conspicuous at the east entrance point, towering above the insipid +mangrove shore. We gave it the name of Hope Inlet, to commemorate the +feelings it excited on its first discovery. From the south point of +Clarence Strait it is distant eleven miles, and the bay in which it lies, +from the shallow-water at the head of it, was called Shoal Bay. + +The boat being provisioned for four days, we pushed on to explore another +opening above fifteen miles to the westward. The seabreeze setting in +early, we did not reach it till after dark, when we landed for +observations at a cliffy projection near the eastern entrance point: this +we found to be composed of a kind of pipeclay, mixed with calcareous +matter. We had some difficulty in landing, and then in scrambling up the +cliffs by the light of a lantern. If any of the watchful natives happened +at the time to be on the lookout, they must have stood fixed with +astonishment at beholding such strange persons, who at such a time of +night, with no ostensible object were visiting their shores. + +EXPLORE A NEW OPENING. + +September 9. + +Before the veil of darkness was quite removed, we could faintly +distinguish the mouth of the opening; and the sight at daylight was most +cheering. A wide bay appearing between two white cliffy heads, and +stretching away within to a great distance, presented itself to our view. +Far to the southward, between the heads, rose a small table-topped hill. +As we pulled in towards the eastern entrance point, the river-like +appearance began to wear off, more land making its appearance towards the +head of the opening. On reaching this point Mr. Forsyth and myself +climbed up the cliff, whilst the breakfast was cooking. From the summit +we had a good view of the bay, and were delighted to find large openings +in the south-east and south-west corners of it. The table hill before +mentioned, stood on the point between them. To see the eastern part of +it, however, it was necessary to cross to the opposite point, where some +talc slate, pieces of which measured four inches in length, was found +imbedded in quartz. The point was called in consequence, Talc Head. + +PORT DARWIN. + +The other rocks near it were of a fine-grained sandstone: a new feature +in the geology of this part of the continent, which afforded us an +appropriate opportunity of convincing an old shipmate and friend, that he +still lived in our memory; and we accordingly named this sheet of water +Port Darwin. A few small bamboos grew on this head; the other trees were +chiefly white gums. I climbed to the top of one of them, and obtained +thence a view of another opening in the eastern part of the harbour. It +now being low-water, an extensive shoal was discovered, reaching from +abreast of Talc Head to the point separating the South-East and +South-West openings, an extent of nearly five miles. This somewhat +diminished the value of our discovery, as it limited the capabilities of +the bay as a harbour. + +We now proceeded to explore the north-eastern and largest opening, +distant six miles from our station. A large islet and a reef left the +entrance only a mile wide. Expanding again, it formed two arms, one +running south, the other East-South-East, between small groups of +singular isolated haycock-shaped hills, about 250 feet high. Following +the latter, being the largest, we found that it soon curved round, taking +a southerly direction. A bank free from mangroves occurring in this bend, +we availed ourselves of it, as the day was closing in, to secure some +early stars for latitude and longitude. The intense pleasure afforded by +traversing water that had never before been divided by any keel, in some +measure compensated us for the annoyance from the mosquitoes and +sandflies, that took the opportunity of assailing us while in the +defenceless state of quiet necessary in making observations. Pushing out +into the middle of the stream, and each wielding a beater, our tiny +enemies were soon shaken off, and borne back to the shore by a refreshing +North-West breeze. + +We found it necessary to keep a sharp lookout here for the alligators, as +they swarmed in dangerous numbers. + +The scarcity of fish, and the shallowness of the water did not hold out +much hope that the arm we were tracing would prove of great extent; still +many speculations were hazarded on the termination of it. The temperature +in the night was down to 78 degrees, and the dew sufficiently heavy to +wet the boat's awning through. + +CONTINUE EXPLORATION. + +Anxious to know how far this piece of water was to carry us into the +untrodden wilds of Australia, we moved off with the first streak of dawn. +Ten miles in a South by East direction brought us to where the width and +depth was not sufficient to induce us to proceed further. Besides, as we +were then only fifteen miles from a bend of the upper part of the +Adelaide, which must receive the drainage of all that part of the +country, it seemed improbable that any other large river existed in the +neighbourhood. Six miles from our furthest, which was about thirty miles +from the entrance, we passed a small island. The banks on either side of +the inlet were, as usual, a thick grove of mangroves, except in one spot, +a mile lower down, where we landed on our return for observations. This +we found to be a low cliffy projection of slate formation, whilst +scattered over the face of the few miles of country, which we are able to +explore, were small bits of quartz; large blocks also of which protruded +occasionally through a light kind of mould. + +APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. + +The country was a most thirsty-looking level, the low brushwood on which +cracked and snapped as we walked through it, with a brittle dryness that +testified how perfectly parched-up was everything. A single spark would +instantly have wrapped the whole face of the country in one sheet of +fire. Slight blasts of heated withering air, as if from an oven, would +occasionally strike the face as we walked along; sometimes they were +loaded with those peculiar and most agreeable odours that arise from +different kinds of gums. Still the white eucalyptus and the palm, wore in +comparison with the other vegetation, an extraordinary green appearance, +derived probably from the nightly copious falls of dew, which is the only +moisture this part of the continent receives during the present season. +The birds we observed were common to other parts of the continent, being +a few screaming cockatoos, parrots, and quails, and near the water a +small white egret. There was nothing of interest to recall our memories +to this first visit to a new part of Australia, save a very large ant's +nest, measuring twenty feet in height. This object is always the first +that presents itself whenever my thoughts wander to that locality. + +As the boat was not provisioned for the time it would take to explore all +the openings we had discovered, and as the capabilities of Port Darwin +were sufficiently great to require the presence of the ship, I determined +on returning immediately to Shoal Bay. + +VISIT FROM THE NATIVES. + +During the time we were absent, some of our people who had been on shore, +received a visit from a party of natives, who evinced the most friendly +disposition. This verifies what I have before observed, as to the +remarkable differences of character that exist between many Australian +tribes, though living in the immediate neighbourhood of each other; for, +it will be remembered, that at no great distance we had experienced a +very different reception. + +Those people amounted in number, with their families, to twenty-seven, +and came down to our party without any symptoms of hesitation. Both men +and women were finer than those we had seen in Adam Bay. The tallest male +measured five feet eleven, which is three inches less than a native +Flinders measured in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The teeth of these people +were ALL PERFECT, an additional proof that the ceremony of knocking them +out, like others practised in Australia, is very partially diffused. The +rite of circumcision, for instance, is only performed at King's Sound, on +the west side of the Gulf of Carpentaria, and near the head of the +Australian bight on the south. Mr. Eyre, who discovered the existence of +the rite on the last-mentioned part of the continent, infers that the +natives of the places I have mentioned must have had some communication +with each other through the interior; but it is possible that at a +distant period of time, circumcision may have been very generally +practised, and that having become gradually disused, the custom is now +only preserved at two or three points, widely separated from each other. +I do not advance this as a theory, but simply as a suggestion, as there +is some difficulty in supposing communication to have taken place across +the continent. + +MIGRATION OF THE NATIVES. + +Some light may be thrown on the migration of the aboriginal inhabitants +of Australia, by tracing the parts of the coast on which canoes are in +use. It has already been mentioned, that we had not seen any westward of +Clarence Strait, neither were they in use in the bottom of the Gulf of +Carpentaria, nor on the south coast.* By the assistance of these and +similar facts, we may hereafter be enabled to discover the exact +direction in which the streams of population have flowed over the +continent. But I am not prepared to agree entirely with Mr. Eyre when he +concludes, as I have stated, from the fact of the rite of circumcision +having been found on the south and north-west coasts, and on the Gulf of +Carpentaria, that there exists any peculiar connection between the tribes +inhabiting those several points. This enterprising traveller moreover +thinks that the idea he has started goes far towards refuting the theory +of an inland sea, another presumption against which he maintains to be +the hot winds that blow from the interior. + +(*Footnote. An inference may be drawn from the parts of the shore on +which canoes are in use, to show that the migrations of the natives, so +far southwards, have been along the coast. The raft they use is precisely +the same in make and size on the whole extent of the North-west coast.) + +THEORY OF AN INLAND SEA. + +I confess that the theory of an inland sea has long since vanished from +my mind, though I base my opinion on reasons different from those of Mr. +Eyre. The intercourse between natives of opposite sides of the continent +(though it is certainly possible) has never been established, and while +it remains hypothetical, cannot be adduced to overthrow another +hypothesis. The existence of hot winds also blowing from the interior is +not conclusive, as we had, when in the Gulf of Carpentaria, very cold +winds coming from the same direction. We know, however, that the +temperature of winds depends much on the nature of the soil over which +they sweep, for instance, in a cold clayey soil, the radiation of heat is +very rapid. + +Before quitting this subject it may be as well to mention that my own +impression, which the most recent information bears out, is that instead +of an inland sea, there is in the centre of Australia a vast desert, the +head of which, near Lake Torrens, is not more than three hundred feet +above the level of the sea. The coast being surrounded by hilly ranges, +the great falls of rain that must occasionally occur in the interior, may +convert a vast extent of the central and lowest portion, towards the +north side of the continent, into a great morass, or lake, which, from +the northerly dip, must discharge its waters slowly into the Gulf of +Carpentaria, without possessing sufficient stability to mark either its +bed or boundaries. + +FRIENDLY NATIVES. + +To return to the party of natives which has given rise to this +digression. They had clearly never seen a white person before; for they +stepped up to one man of fair complexion, who had his trousers turned up +over his knees, and began rubbing his skin to see whether it was painted. +They came fearlessly to our party, as they were collecting shells at the +extremity of a long flat. One of the officers, who happened to be very +thirsty, placed such confidence in their friendly manner, that he allowed +them to conduct him alone to a small well near the beach, but the water +was too salt to be drunk. The force of habit is astonishing: natives +drink this brackish fluid and find it very refreshing. The small quantity +that suffices them is also surprising, though they will drink enormously +when they can get it. + +MODES OF PROCURING WATER. + +Their mode of procuring this necessary element is singular, and they +exhibit in this particular much ingenuity and great fertility of +resources. They are never harassed with the idea of being without any; +which not only distresses but adds to the horror of thirst with the +European explorer, who has not experienced the constant watchfulness of +Providence, and does not know that he may collect from the leaves, with a +sponge, on some mornings, as much as a pint of water. This has, however, +been done, even on the south coast, where the dews are not so copious as +on the north-west. The natives themselves are never at a loss for that +indeed precious article, water. They sometimes procure it by digging up +the lateral roots of the small gumtree, a dusty and fatiguing operation: +they break them off in short bits, and set them up to drain into a piece +of bark or a large shell. By tapping also the knotty excrescences of +trees they find the fluid, which they suck out. Many of these modes of +obtaining water are of course known to experienced bushmen, like Mr. +Eyre, whose deeply interesting narrative of his hardships and perils has +already enlisted the sympathy of the public. + +September 12. + +We moved the ship into Port Darwin, anchoring just within the eastern +cliffy head which, to commemorate Lieutenant Emery's success in finding +water by digging, we named after him. + +SURVEY OF THE HARBOUR. + +All the surveying force was now put in instant requisition; Captain +Wickham went to examine an opening in the coast mentioned by Captain +King, lying about twelve miles further to the westward, whilst the other +boats explored the openings at the head of the harbour. + +That on the eastern part, Mr. Fitzmaurice traced ten miles in a +south-easterly direction, being the greatest distance it was navigable +for a boat. The remaining branch in the large opening, in the +south-eastern corner of the harbour, Mr. Forsyth and myself explored +South-South-East three miles, and South-South-West five more, the extent +to which it was possible to advance. Beyond, it was strewed with large +blocks of granite; a fact, for which we were in some degree prepared, as +in the vicinity of the Adelaide River we had proof of the primary +formation of this part of the continent. As the boat lay scarcely afloat +between two of these lumps of rock, numbers of white ibises, with black +necks, kept flying over us from the southward, indicating that a swamp +lay in that direction. We also disturbed several alligators, who slid off +quietly into the water at our approach. There was no variety in the +shores of this inlet, composed like all the others, of an impenetrable +network of mangroves. A ridge of the same conical-shaped low hills before +alluded to, as existing in this neighbourhood, rose upon our right as we +came up, and bore from our furthest North by West two miles; from the +highest part up the inlet in the south-west corner, east two miles. + +The latter we found very tortuous, extending in a general direction south +nine miles. No events occurred worthy of any remark during our +examination, except one of a trifling character: the mosquitoes taking +advantage of the calm, between the high mangroves on the banks, attacked +us most cruelly, a circumstance we mention as trifling, as far as the +reader is concerned, but of great moment to us. + +After completing the survey of the southern and western portion of this +harbour, we returned to the ship, where soon afterwards Captain Wickham +also arrived, having found Patterson Bay to be a good port. It trended in +south ten miles, and East-South-East the same distance, forming quite an +inner haven, which was named after Mr. Bynoe. + +NATIVES ON A RAFT. + +At the turning leading from the outer to the inner harbour they came +suddenly in view of a raft making across, a distance of three miles, on +which were two women with several children, whilst four or five men were +swimming alongside, towing it and supporting themselves by means of a log +of wood across their chests. On perceiving the boat they instantly struck +out for the land leaving the women on the raft. For some time the latter +kept their position, waiting until the boat got quite near, when they +gave utterance to a dreadful yell, and assuming at the same time a most +demoniacal aspect, plunged into the water as if about to abandon the +children to their fate. + +MATERNAL AFFECTION AND FEAR. + +Not so, however; despite the dreadful fear they appeared to entertain of +the white man, maternal affection was strong within them, and risking all +to save their offspring, they began to tow the raft with all their +strength towards the shore. This devotion on the part of the women to +their little ones, was in strong contrast with the utter want of feeling +shown by the men towards both mothers and children. + +Captain Wickham now, no doubt to their extreme consternation, pulled +after the men, and drove them back to the raft. Some dived and tried thus +to escape the boat, while others grinned ferociously, and appeared to +hope, by dint of hideous grimaces--such as are only suggested even to a +savage by the last stage of fear--to terrify the white men from +approaching. At length, however, they were all driven back to the raft, +which was then towed across the harbour for them; a measure which they +only were able to approve of when they had landed, and fear had quite +subsided. + +Doubtless, the forbearance of our party surprised them, for from their +terrified looks and manner, when swimming with all their strength from +the raft, they must have apprehended a fate at least as terrible as that +of being eaten. + +The raft itself was quite a rude affair, being formed of small bundles of +wood lashed together, without any shape or form, quite different from any +we had seen before. + +Bynoe Harbour was found to terminate in three deep creeks branching off +between North-East and South-East, the largest of which led into fresh +water, but in small detached pools, which are separated from the salt, by +a shelf of red porous sandstone, and which two miles further became +entirely lost in the rocks. The green appearance of the gumtrees and an +occasional clump of palms, which had pleasingly succeeded the mangroves, +as they advanced, assured Captain Wickham that there was fresh water +near. Probably, if they had carried their researches further, they would +have found these signs reappear again, doubtless proceeding from a swamp, +the presence of which the reader will recollect I inferred from seeing +the ibis flocking from the south-west up the south inlet in Port Darwin; +the west inlet of which is only one mile distant from the north-east +creek in the head of Bynoe Harbour. Doubtless when the country is not in +its present parched and thirsty state, all these are fresh at their +heads. + +WELL AT PORT DARWIN. + +The slow progress made in watering, from the soft nature of the soil in +the bottom of the well, lengthened our stay considerably in Port Darwin. +The water oozed through the sides, beginning to do so at a depth of +twenty-five feet. The strata cut through varied considerably, in part +consisting of ironstone mixed with a white kind of marl or pipeclay, for +eight feet, then sandstone of a reddish colour and in a state of +decomposition, with a darker kind of marl, in which were small bits of +mica, for a depth of sixteen feet, the remaining portion of two or three +being a sandy mud, apparently of the consistency of clay and of a light +grey colour. The position of this well is in a small valley at the east +end of the first sandy bay within Point Emery, in the centre of which the +observations were made, placing it in latitude 12 degrees 27 minutes 45 +seconds, longitude 1 degree 19 minutes 40 seconds, East of Port +Essington. + +On this beach several unsuccessful hauls were made with the seine, though +a few rare and curious fish were taken, which Lieutenant Emery added to +his collection of coloured drawings of Australian fish; some of them will +be found in the appendix to this volume. Mr. Bynoe also obtained +specimens of one or two rare birds; the large red-necked vampire of the +Adelaide River, and the cream-coloured pigeon before alluded to, were +also seen by him, being the farthest south the latter was met with by us. + +BRILLIANT METEORS. + +Some brilliant meteors were observed during our stay, one in particular +on the evening of the 20th, in the West-North-West. It fell from the +zenith at an angle of about twenty degrees from a vertical line. The +descent was marked by a long train of light, visible ten seconds, while +others of less brilliancy followed from the same place within an hour. +Again on the 23rd, was the dark vault of heaven illumined about the same +time in a similar manner, as well as on the 28th; the number of meteors +being the same on each day. + +We were rather surprised on the 24th, to experience a squall from the +eastward about midnight, a regular occurrence on the North-west coast in +January and February only. + +VISITED BY NATIVES. + +On the 24th a party of natives made their appearance on Point Emery. +Their voices, shrill like those of all their fellows, were heard before +they were seen. With these it was particularly so, though on all +occasions the speaking, and hallooing of the Aborigines can be heard at a +very considerable distance. They were found, when on shore, to be of the +party we had before seen in Shoal Bay, with the addition of five strange +men. All appeared actuated by the same friendly disposition, a very +strong indication of which was their presenting themselves without +spears.* Like most others on that coast, they had apiece of bamboo, +eighteen inches long, run through the cartilage of the nose. Their +astonishment at the size of the wells was highly amusing; sudden +exclamations of surprise and admiration burst from their lips, while the +varied expressions and play of countenance, showed how strongly their +feelings were at work within. + +(*Footnote. Speaking of natives appearing without spears, reminds me to +mention for the information of future explorers, that their arms are +always near at hand. They even trail them sometimes between their toes, a +fact which travellers should ever bear in mind.) + +It is very singular, and not very susceptible of explanation, that +although they climb tall trees by merely resting their toes in a slight +notch cut as they ascend, the natives will hesitate in alarm before +looking over the edge of a precipice or height; it was, therefore, some +time before this party could be induced to look down the well. At length +by stretching their spare bodies and necks to the utmost, they caught +sight of the water in the bottom. + +SURPRISE OF NATIVES AT THE WELL. + +The effect upon them was magical, and they stood at first as if +electrified. At length their feelings gained vent, and from their lips +proceeded an almost mad shout of delight. Nothing perhaps could have more +decisively shown the superiority of the white men to these savages, than +our being thus able to procure this necessary of life from so great a +depth, there being moreover no outward appearance of any. Perhaps their +delight may be considered a sign how scarce is water in this part of the +country. I should certainly say from the immense quantity each man drank, +which was two quarts, that this was the case. A further corroboration of +the extreme importance of this element to the Western Australian is, that +a native, in describing a fine country, always opens his narrative by +stating the important fact--plenty water. + +The deep interest which in the natives always succeeds to the discovery +of this necessary article, must strongly impress the explorer, who will +ever afterwards look upon streams, even in other countries, with far +different feelings from any before experienced. In no land does the +presence of water more rapidly enrich the landscape, changing it from a +thirsty-looking plain to a rich green spot, than in Australia, and it is +in journeying through such a country, when one suddenly meets with a +luxuriant valley, that the eye naturally dwells with delight on the +changing scene, and the impression, not easily forgotten, clings to us +even when far away. When gazing on the superabundant water that flows in +almost every corner of the earth, we cannot but reflect on the scantily +supplied Australian, nor fail to wish him a more plentiful supply. + +BLESSING OF WATER. + +Naturally we are disposed to reflect but little on the great blessings of +the most ordinary things. In the eyes of the civilized man, fire and +water are matters scarcely worthy of thought; but it is the traveller who +learns to appreciate how great blessings they are in reality. + +An influenza appeared to be raging among the natives, all having the +remnants of colds, coughing severely when we met them. Several attempts +were made to induce them to come on board, but they proved vain. +Sometimes, just as the boat was leaving the shore, they would enter the +bow of it, as if about to accompany us; no sooner, however, was the boat +in motion, than out they jumped, laughing and apparently delighted to +deceive us, acting, in fact, exactly the part of noisy +children. + +"IRRU, IRRU." + +Our friendly intercourse with these natives sustained a shock, which at +first threatened to annihilate it, but which fortunately ended, as it +began, in smoke. One of the officers used a common flint and steel, in +order to procure a light for his cigar; at this new mode of procuring +fire all eyes were open--for doubtless they procure it only by means of +friction--but when he proceeded to place the lighted cigar between his +lips, and roll forth from thence a thick and perfumed cloud, fright took +full possession of them, and exclaiming "irru, irru," with the arm +extended, and a slight vertical motion of the hand, they darted off most +unceremoniously, clambering up the face of a precipitous cliff, with +extraordinary agility. Their cry of "irru, irru," and their manner of +delivering it, were identical with those of King's Sound, under somewhat +similar circumstances. In a few days they had forgotten their fright, and +had returned to renew the friendly relations this little incident had +interrupted. + +During the short time we passed with this people in Port Darwin, some +words of their language were collected by many of us. Those that we all +agreed in I have noted down, but the different names for things given by +the same person, here and at Shoal Bay, will at once impress the reader +with the conviction of how impossible it is for transient visitors to +obtain a correct vocabulary. Those first made out at Port Essington, were +found to be half Malay words, and of any meaning rather than what they +were supposed to convey. The words given below are from Mr. Earl's +vocabulary, the result of four years careful examination and experience. + +COLUMN 1: ENGLISH. +COLUMN 2: SHOAL BAY. +COLUMN 3: PORT DARWIN. +COLUMN 4: PORT ESSINGTON. +COLUMN 5: SWAN RIVER. + +Crab : Algaura : - : Meir : -. +Dog : Melinga : - : Mugki : Dudah. +Ear : Bangua : - : Alayjar : Zungah. +Eye : Ummera : Mical : Ira : Mael. +Hair : Brailma : Guarshiel : Angbal : Cutap. +Hand : - : Guian : - : -. +Stone : - : Lowheil : - : -. +Tree : Urmingua : - : Ojalli : Boono. +Teeth : Emburge : - : Aujije : Nalgo. +Water : - : Kararback : - : Kaaby. + +DIFFICULTY OF UNDERSTANDING THE NATIVES. + +The great difference between the words at Shoal Bay and Port Darwin, must +now be apparent to the reader; a more extended acquaintance with the +aboriginal inhabitants of Australia, has shown that many words put down +by us as meaning a certain thing, signify in reality, "What do you mean?" +"I do not understand"--which shows at once the great difficulty of +arriving at the truth. This must often be the case; for what is more +natural, than that when a savage is asked the meaning of a thing, and +knows not, but that he should express his ignorance? How often this +expression of ignorance has been registered as the denomination of some +animal or thing, we leave the reader to conjecture. Moreover, there are +many words totally obliterated from their dialects, which thus undergo +constant alteration. This in part arises from the circumstance of their +never mentioning the name of a deceased person, who has perhaps been +called after a tree, bird, or animal; which then receives another +appellation, the old one passing away. From the few words given of the +respective dialects of Port Essington and Swan River, they would appear +essentially to differ, and from what has since come under my own +observation, as well as from facts collected by others, I feel confident +that there are many distinct dialects spoken in Australia. + +DIALECTS OF AUSTRALIA. + +It is easy enough for those who hold to the theory that Australia +produces few dialects, to create for themselves a resemblance in words by +mutilation and addition; but on careful examination, the similarity will +not be found to exist. The natives we took from Swan River, never could +understand any of those we met on the North-west coast, though certainly +Mr. Moore recognized a few words spoken by the natives on the West coast, +about 200 miles north of Swan River, as being identical with the language +used at the latter place. + +It may here be as well to quote Strzelecki on this subject, ere we pursue +our narrative: + +"The circumstance of the three natives who accompanied Captain Flinders +and Captain P.P. King, in the survey of New Holland, and of those who +accompanied me amongst the different tribes of New South Wales, being +unable to understand one word spoken by tribes of other districts, would +lead to the belief that the dialects spoken in New Holland, are far from +possessing those affinities, still less those identities of language, +from which a common root might be inferred. Those European visitors or +explorers who adduce, in support of a common root, some hundred words +analogous in sound, construction and meaning, as being spoken all over +New Holland, have jumped to the conclusion with, I fear, too much haste +and eagerness. Besides many other insuperable difficulties, which an +investigation of such a nature presents, there was one quite sufficient +to defeat all attempts to fathom the subject, namely, the syntactic +ignorance of the language to which the inquiry related. Indeed, to any +man who knows and speaks four European languages, it will be at once +apparent, that to seize upon, and note from the sound, a word belonging +to one country, so as to compare its sound and accentuation with a word +belonging to another country, needs a thorough knowledge of the genius of +the two languages, and of their alphabet, through which alone the +pronunciation can be discriminated." + +Though, however, we may not attain to a knowledge of the truth at once, +yet should we never lose an opportunity of making a vocabulary of such +words as we know to be correct. This should be the case from one +consideration alone; for how gratifying it is, when visiting an +uncivilized people, to find that you know a word or two of their +language! The satisfaction is mutual--there is at once a sympathetic link +between you--you no longer appear as thorough strangers to each other, +and this slight knowledge of their dialect may often be the means of +making useful acquaintances. + +To return, however, to the thread of our narrative. + +LEAVE PORT DARWIN. + +The opening to the westward, visited by Captain Wickham, requiring +further examination, we left Port Darwin for that purpose, beating out on +the morning of the 26th. Before taking leave, however, of this place, it +will not be deemed irrelevant if we give some slight description of it. +The entrance points, I have already said, are white cliffy projections, +and distant from each other three miles. Just outside them lies a long +four fathom bank, which, together with a very extensive flat of one, and +two fathoms, nearly joining it from the eastern side, and another +fronting the north side of the west entrance point, comprise all the +dangers on entering this port; which, although of considerable size, is +much occupied by shoal water, particularly on the western side, +commencing from abreast of Talc Head. The best anchorage is near Point +Emery. The extreme of the latter, and a clump of peaked bushes on the +south point of the eastern arm of the harbour, when in one, make a good +mark for leading out; passing on the west side of the four fathom bank, +where the channel is a mile wide and 10 fathoms deep. + +IRREGULARITY OF THE TIDES. + +The tide is very irregular in Port Darwin, rising at springs 24 feet, and +at neaps sometimes only two; its rate being from one and a half to three +knots. The time of high-water at the full and change of moon, was +half-past five, which being half an hour earlier than at Clarence Strait, +fully bears out the opinion I have before expressed, that the flood-tide +comes from the westward. + +Having to beat out against the seabreeze, the flood-tide made before we +could get round the point on the coast lying midway between Ports Darwin +and Patterson, and we were compelled to pass the night in the +neighbourhood, a circumstance rendered disagreeable by the recurrence of +another midnight squall from East-North-East, so severe as to require the +use of a second anchor. The rain was so bitterly cold and sudden, as well +as violent, acting also on our frames with more severity from the +lightness of our clothing, that it had all the effect of a shower-bath, +momentarily taking away the power of speech. It caused a rapid fall in +the thermometer of ten degrees, bringing it as low as 60 degrees. At Port +Darwin it had been regularly 87 and 89 degrees in the day, and 80 degrees +at night. + +MIDNIGHT SQUALL. + +The squall gave but slight warning of its approach, and four hours +afterwards the mutinous assemblage of clouds had wholly disappeared from +the heavens, leaving nothing to stay the advent of light which came +pouring itself in floods of molten glory over the cloudless sky, as the +morning broke. This was the signal of our again moving towards Port +Patterson, which we entered, passing on the eastern side of the reef in +the mouth, and anchoring close to the eastern shore of the outermost of a +chain of sandy islets, forming the west entrance point of the harbour, +and extending eight miles in a North-North-East 1/2 East direction from +the land. This group is based on a great coral ledge that dries in part +at low-water, thus affording the natives the means of going over easily +to them, a circumstance of which they avail themselves, as we found them +on the outer island. They would not, however, come near us, moving off as +we landed. Doubtless the terror of some of their party, in a great +measure arose from a vivid recollection of the raft interview, which was +likely to dwell long in their minds; at all events, if not of the same +party, they had heard of us, and it will readily be believed, that we had +been painted in sufficiently terrible and exaggerated colours to render a +second interview, in their minds, very undesirable. + +QUAIL ISLAND. + +Our discovering them in this place, which we named Quail Island, from +that bird being found in great abundance, quite destroyed the hope we had +previously entertained of procuring turtle there. It was the season for +their incubation, and at that time the island swarmed with them; but our +sable friends had abundantly availed themselves of this fact, as we saw +the remains of several of their turtle feasts. Although low, and composed +entirely of sand, we found a native well of excellent water near the +middle of the island, which, having been enlarged, afforded an ample +supply, a circumstance that at once renders this a spot of importance and +value. Both on this and others of the group there were a few small trees +and a sprinkling of brushwood. + +We did not notice any of the singular detached hills seen at Port Darwin, +and the greatest elevation any of the land in the neighbourhood attained +was 200 feet; neither did we observe any primary rocks. + +The observations were made at the South-East point of Quail Island, which +by them is placed in latitude 12 degrees 30 9/10 minutes South, and +longitude 1 degree 42 1/4 minutes West of Port Essington. The almost +insulated character of this part of the coast, and the quantity of +soundings the openings required detained us until the 6th of October, +when we passed out on the western side of the large reef in the centre of +the entrance, which is the proper one, and received the name of West +Channel. The western entrance point of Bynoe's Harbour, bearing South 15 +degrees East, leads through it. This guide is only, however, of service +to a certain distance within the entrance, as it leads over a small patch +that dries at low-water, distant two and a half miles from the +above-mentioned point on the same bearing. To avoid this danger, it is +therefore necessary to haul over towards Quail Island, when the highest +hummock on it bears South-West 1/2 West. The tides follow the direction +of the channel, varying in velocity from one to two knots. The ebb in the +offing set West-North-West. + +PORT PATTERSON. + +The reader will be able to have an idea of the large sheet of water these +united harbours form, by knowing that Port Patterson is twelve miles long +and seven wide at the entrance; though at the upper part, forming the +mouth of Bynoe Harbour, it is not half that width. The latter winds round +to the South-East for a distance of 15 miles, with an average width of +two, and a depth of nine fathoms. Thus terminated our exploration in this +neighbourhood; the result having been to give this part of the coast +quite an insulated character. The sheets of water creating this new +feature, although monotonous with their mangrove-lined shores, still +conveyed us many miles into various parts of the continent that had never +before been seen by a civilized being. + +Another opening of far greater magnitude, and promising in all +probability to lead far into the interior now lay before us, at a +distance of 140 miles further on the coast to the south-west. By the +evening we had lost sight of the land near Port Patterson, and were +steering towards the opening that promised so much. A gap in the +coastline, 28 miles wide, with a strong tide passing to and fro, failed +not to give birth to endless speculation as we approached the spot. I had +always looked forward to the examination of this unexplored portion of +the North-west coast, as one of the most interesting parts of our survey. + +REACH POINT PEARCE. + +In consequence of light north-west and westerly winds, our approach was +tantalizingly slow, and we did not enter the opening until the evening of +the 9th, when we passed four miles from the north point, called by +Captain King, Point Pearce. His visit to this part of the coast was in +September 1819, and under very adverse circumstances; his vessel had but +one anchor left, and the strong easterly winds then prevailing, with +thick hazy weather, rendered his progress into the opening both difficult +and hazardous: after a trial of two days, and having several narrow +escapes from getting on shore, he bore away to examine the coast to the +south-west, where he was repaid for his disappointment by the discovery +of Cambridge Gulf. + +Thus did the exploration of this wide and interesting opening fall to our +good fortune; as we proceeded inwards, several beautiful medusae passed +the ship, and our hopes were roused to the highest pitch by the muddy +appearance of the water. At sun set the anchor was dropped in five +fathoms; Point Pearce, a cliffy level projection, bearing North-West by +North five miles, and about one and a half from a low rocky point. + +FOSSIL HEAD. + +A bluff projection, bearing South 65 degrees East seven miles, bounded +our view to the southward, and a range of sugarloaf hills, the highest +being 350 feet, rose about eight miles in the rear of it. + +October 10. + +We were naturally very anxious to proceed, and as soon as there was +sufficient light to read the division of the bearing compass, the ship +was gently stealing onward in the direction of the bluff, and furthest +land seen last evening to the South-East. We had not proceeded far before +we discovered a distant level range, beginning to show itself to the +right of this projection, adding still more to the zest with which we +pursued our search. The tide, however, making against us, and the wind +gradually failing, we were compelled to anchor abreast, and distant three +quarters of a mile from the north-west point of a bay two miles wide. + +The bluff headland, before alluded to, forms the south-east point of this +bay, and to which Captain Wickham and myself hastened instantly the ship +was secured. + +We found a few fossils on the side of this ridge, as we ascended, which +at once induced us to name it, Fossil Head. Our view was decisive of the +fact, that all further progress eastward was at an end, but to the south +sandbanks and patches of dark-coloured water bounding our view left still +great hope. The high land terminated abruptly to the southward, whilst +looking to the northward it appeared to subside in an East-North-East +direction. The base of this range was fronted by a low piece of land, +stretching out on its north-west side, and forming a point which bore +South 35 degrees East five miles from Fossil Head. + +TABLE HILL. + +But the most remarkable feature in the scene was an isolated flat-topped +hill, having all the appearance of a bastion or fortress, rising abruptly +from the surrounding plain, to an elevation of 650 feet, the upper part +being a line of cliffs, greatly adds to the appearance it presents, that +of a complete fortification. It bore North 85 degrees East, fourteen +miles from Fossil Head; and the country between was very low, and +intersected by a creek about midway. This remarkable piece of land is +called in the chart Table Hill; an inlet trended in towards the foot of +it. + +We noticed several old traces of natives; the country in the +neighbourhood was of a stony desolate character, yet appeared to afford +nourishment for a small growth of white gums. After examining two +mangrove creeks of no importance, in the north-west corner of the bay +fronting the ship, we returned. + +Our hopes of finding a river of some magnitude were not in the least +destroyed from what we had seen from Fossil Head, and the southerly +direction of the flood-stream fostered our belief. Independent of these +signs, we felt that we were again entering upon a new part of the +continent, and the thoughts thus engendered acted like a powerful +stimulant, so that we were not easily cast down. + +The tide serving badly, and the day being far advanced, it was decided +that we should not move the ship till next morning, when after getting +abreast of Fossil Head, we steered from it on the bearing of the +deep-water channel we had seen yesterday. We proceeded cautiously, +feeling our way with the boats ahead. After passing some distance along +the eastern side of a long dry sandbank, we were obliged again to anchor, +both boats signalizing a depth of only two fathoms. + +FIND A CHANNEL FOR THE SHIP. + +Table Hill bore North 46 degrees East, fifteen miles, and Fossil Head +North 15 degrees West. It was now necessary to find a channel for the +ship, which I succeeded in doing the next day, and on that following, the +12th, Captain Wickham, Mr. Bynoe, and myself, went to visit the high +table range, while Messrs. Fitzmaurice and Keys were to examine the large +inlet running in towards the foot of Table Hill. + +By following a creek we almost reached the foot of the high level range +in the boat; a line of cliffs stretched along near the summit, beneath +which it sloped down rapidly to the plain. We ascended by a slight +valley, communicating with a break in the cliffs, but found on reaching +the top that instead of being on a level, we were standing amidst a +series of undulations or low hills, forming the crest of a platform, but +so blended together, and of so nearly the same height as to appear in the +distance one continuous plain. It was, therefore, with some difficulty +that we could find the highest part, each, until we reached it, appearing +to be so. Ultimately I was compelled to climb a tree, in order to obtain +the necessary angles. + +VIEW FROM TABLE HILL. + +The view was very extensive, a wide inlet separating the range we stood +on from other high land trending southward, with great irregularity, from +the base of which stretched out a long plain, similar to that which lay +at our feet. The latter was intersected by creeks that could be traced by +the mangrove fringe which marked their course. Many parts of the low +lands were covered with a salt incrustation, and here and there were +scattered trees deposited by the overflows of the water, that still +appeared to flow from the southward. The sight of this driftwood and many +minor appearances, was indeed most welcome, and added full confirmation +to the opinion that we were now within the mouth of a large river. + +To the South-West, and distant thirteen miles, were two large islands, +which from the remarkable shape of two patches of trees on their northern +ends, we named Quoin and Clump Islands. A small patch of low land was +discovered beyond them, between which and Quoin Island appeared the +proper channel. That, however, lying between the islands seemed +sufficiently large for the ship. Being moreover within our immediate +reach, it was determined that we should proceed by it. + +MACADAM RANGE. + +A remarkable change here occurred in the character of the country, the +hills being now composed of a white, and very compact kind of sandstone. +In the cliffs the strata were very marked, dipping to the South-East at +an angle of about thirty degrees with the horizon. The base and sides of +these heights were thickly strewn with small fragments of sandstone. The +appearance presented was precisely similar to that of a new road, after +it had undergone the improving process invented by Mr. McAdam, in whose +honour, therefore, we named this McAdam Range. + +A large light-coloured kangaroo was the only living thing we saw. A short +green-looking grass was thinly sprinkled over the country, imparting a +freshness to it, which, in contrast with the aridity that had of late +surrounded us, was quite delightful. + +Crossing the flat on returning to the boat, I was much struck by one +particular spot on the border of a creek. I came suddenly upon a number +of flat stones placed in rows, one upon the other. Though altogether +covering about ten yards of ground, there was no appearance of any shape +in their arrangement. I am still puzzled, to determine whether they were +merely the results of childish amusement, or had performed their part in +some magical incantation or religious ceremony of the natives. I am the +more inclined to think it was the latter, as there was a native grave +near, covered with the same kind of flat stones, to the height of about +three feet. We had not before observed anything like it, neither did we +afterwards. Several flights of large curlews were seen passing over the +boat, and resting on the flats in its neighbourhood. Whilst endeavouring +to procure some of them, I was placed in a sufficiently awkward position, +running the risk of becoming myself a fresh meal instead of procuring +one. + +NARROW ESCAPE FROM AN ALLIGATOR. + +I had stripped to swim across a creek, and with gun in hand was +stealthily crawling to the outer edge of the flat where my intended +victims were, when an alligator rose close by, bringing his unpleasant +countenance much nearer than was agreeable. My gun was charged with shot, +and the primitive state of nudity to which I had just reduced myself, +precluded the possibility of my having a second load. To fire therefore +was useless, and to retreat difficult, for I had wandered from the boat +some distance across the bank, on which the water was fast rising. +Thought, there was no time for, and before my companions could have +reached me, the tide would have flooded the place sufficiently to enable +the alligator to attack me at a disadvantage. My only chance of escaping +the monster was to hasten back to the boat, and to cross the last creek +before the alligator, who appeared fully aware of my intentions. It was +now, therefore, a mere matter of speed between us, and the race began. I +started off with the utmost rapidity, the alligator keeping pace with me +in the water. After a sharp and anxious race, I reached the last creek, +which was now much swollen; while the difficulty of crossing was +aggravated by my desire to save my gun. Plunging in I reached the +opposite shore just in time to see the huge jaws of the alligator +extended close above the spot where I had quitted the water. My +deliverance was providential, and I could not refrain from shuddering as +I sat gaining breath upon the bank after my escape, and watching the +disappointed alligator lurking about as if still in hopes of making his +supper upon me. Waiting till the monster came close, I took a deliberate +aim at his eye, which had only the effect of frightening him a little. + +The wind, which was light, blew from the North-East from sunset last +evening until noon, being the first land-wind we had yet experienced. The +temperature remained nearly the same as at Port Patterson, the maximum +being here 86, and the minimum 81. + +October 13. + +We got on board about noon, and the next day Mr. Fitzmaurice returned. He +had found Table Hill to be a perfect natural fortress, accessible only at +the South-East corner by a slight break in the line of cliffs surrounding +it; the large inlet terminated in a creek passing close at the southern +foot of the hill, where it branched off in an east and north-east +direction, and in the course of three miles, became lost at the western +extremity of some low thickly-wooded plains, which extended eastward as +far as the eye could reach. To the south lay McAdam Range, which +declining to the eastward, was at length blended with the plain, the eye +finding some difficulty in determining where the hills ended and the +plain commenced. + +HOPES OF DISCOVERING A RIVER. + +All the soundings and other data for the chart, in the immediate +neighbourhood, were collected by the 16th, when the ship was got +underweigh, as soon as the tide, which here rose twenty feet, was high +enough. After passing through a channel, six and seven fathoms deep, +which the dry extreme of the sandbank fronting the flat, extending off +McAdam Range, bearing South-South-East led through, we hauled over to the +westward for a swash way in the sands, extending off the north-west end +of Clump Island. In crossing the inlet, running under the south end of +McAdam Range, we found as much as ten fathoms, a depth that led to the +hope of its being of great importance, perhaps indeed the mouth of a +river. Passing between Clump and Quoin Islands, we anchored midway +between the latter and Driftwood Island, a proceeding which the approach +of high-water rendered necessary, as from the great fall of the tide we +were obliged at that time to have at least seven fathoms. We were now +surrounded on all sides by flat shores, and from the masthead, I could +trace the low land forming the western side of the principal channel. The +high land south of McAdam Range, was found to terminate in a remarkable +peak, which in the certainty of our search proving successful, we named +River Peak. It was almost blended in one with a range beyond, yet the +fact of the distance which really existed between them, did not escape +our anxious observation; and it was indeed in the different shade of +these two ranges, one being less distinct than the other, that we found +ample confirmation of our hopes. + +PREPARATIONS FOR EXPLORING. + +It was soon arranged that Captain Wickham and myself, should at once +dispel all doubts, and that next morning, Messrs. Fitzmaurice and Keys +should start to explore the river-like opening, under the south end of +McAdam Range, to which we have above alluded. + +DISCOVERY OF THE VICTORIA. + +Our preparations were rapidly made, a few days provisions were stowed +away in the boat, and as the western sky glowed red in the expiring light +of day, the gig was running before a north-west breeze, for the chasm in +the distant high land, bearing South 20 degrees East, twelve miles from +the ship. As we advanced, the separations in the range became more marked +and distinct, as long as the light served us, but presently darkness +wrapped all in impenetrable mystery. Still we ran on keeping close to the +eastern low land, and just as we found that the course we held no longer +appeared to follow the direction of the channel, out burst the moon above +the hills in all its glory, shedding a silvery stream of light upon the +water, and revealing to our anxious eyes the long looked-for river, +rippling and swelling, as it forced its way between high rocky ranges. +Under any circumstances the discovery would have been delightful, but the +time, the previous darkness, the moon rising and spreading the whole +before us like a panorama, made the scene so unusually exciting, that I +forbear any attempt to describe the mingled emotions of that moment of +triumph. As we ran in between the frowning heights, the lead gave a depth +of eighteen and twenty fathoms, the velocity of the stream at the same +time clearly showing how large a body of water was pouring through. "This +is indeed a noble river!" burst from several lips at the same moment; +"and worthy," continued I, "of being honoured with the name of her most +gracious majesty the Queen:" which Captain Wickham fully concurred in, by +at once bestowing upon it the name of Victoria River. + +A glance at the map will show that we have not overrated its importance, +or acted hastily in calling it the Victoria; and it must be admitted that +as the Murray is to South-eastern Australia, so in value and importance +is the great river Victoria, to the opposite side of the continent. + +Pursuing our course between the rocky heights, in a south-east direction, +the outline of a high peaked hill, standing between two ranges, became +visible, appearing, even at that time, so remarkable as to be named +Endeavour Hill.* The wind failing, we pushed into a small opening out of +the stream, on the right hand, to pass the night. + +(*Footnote. Afterwards found to be 690 feet, the highest in the +neighbourhood.) + +VIEW FROM LEADING HILL. + +Anxious to trace further the course of the river, Captain Wickham and +myself ascended the top of a neighbouring hill before early dawn. The +view which presented itself when the day broke, was fraught with every +charm of novelty. A rapid stream passing between barren rocky heights, +here stealing along in calm silence, there eddying and boiling as it +swept past, lay at our feet. By a sudden bend two miles east of where we +stood, it was hid from our view; the ranges overlapping, however, still +pointed out the further course of the Victoria. The boat lay in the mouth +of a creek, which communicating with another four miles further down, +formed an island on the eastern side of the river, which we called +Entrance Isle. + +The formation of this part was a sandstone of a reddish hue, and in a +state of decomposition. A wiry grass and the never-failing eucalyptus +were sparingly scattered over the face of the country, which round the +entrance had a most unpromising and dreary appearance, showing at a +glance its utterly sterile character. + +EXPLORATION OF THE RIVER. + +Taking a hasty breakfast, we pulled up the river; the tortuous nature of +the first reaches, changing their directions suddenly from north to +east-south-east with a depth of seventeen and twenty fathoms, produces +violent eddies and whirlpools. Passing these, a splendid sheet of water +lay before us, trending south-east by south, as far as the eye could +reach from the boat, and more than a mile wide. In the first part of this +we had a few shoal casts of the lead, but afterwards the depth was eight +and ten fathoms, it being near low-water. In order to catch a glance at +what was beyond, and to spell the oars, we landed at a point on the east +side, from which Endeavour Hill bore West 1/2 South three miles. Here the +river, by taking a slight turn more to the southward, was again lost +sight of. We were sorry to perceive that it was much occupied by shoals, +that showed themselves at this time of tide. The first began five miles +beyond our station, commencing from abreast of a rugged ridge, on the +west bank. The singular manner in which the blocks of sandstone were +strewed over this height, caused it to bear a strong resemblance to old +ruins. The appearance of the country had not as yet improved, though the +sandstone had lost that reddish hue we had noticed in the morning, while +preserving the very marked dip to the south-east. + +Continuing we found the change in the direction of the river very slight, +and at the end of sixteen miles it suddenly turned off to the eastward, +which I was sorry to find, as its diverging from its original +south-easterly direction, appeared likely to disappoint our expectation +that the Victoria would prove a highroad to the interior of the +continent. The width had hitherto been almost two miles, but there was +not sufficient depth to give us any hope of bringing the ship up thus +far. + +APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. + +The country now began to assume a more cheerful aspect. The hills +exhibited no longer the same rugged outline, and were better clothed with +vegetation. From the top of one of a conical group, forming the north +point of the river where it changes to the eastward, I could trace its +direction but little further. + +On the opposite side the hills receded, forming an amphitheatre round a +level plain, through which ran a creek. On its banks, for the first time, +we saw fires of the natives. Here, also for the first time, we noticed +the gouty-stem trees; whilst the slope of the hill we ascended was +covered with a tolerable sprinkling of grass. Kangaroos, likewise, were +observed on every side springing along the turf; and a few great +alligators passed up the stream, after reconnoitering our boat at the +risk of a shot or two. + +We were now nearly thirty miles from the ship; and a few stations were +still necessary to be made to complete the survey so far. Our proceeding +farther was therefore useless, especially as an exploring expedition must +pass up the river; and retracing our steps we reached the ship near +midnight on the 20th. The intelligence of the success of our cruise was +received on board with an enthusiasm which explorers only can appreciate. +Mr. Fitzmaurice had not returned, which favoured my surmises that he +would find a river. + +October 21. + +Mr. Forsyth having collected all the necessary material for the survey +near the ship, we shifted our berth this afternoon into deeper water, +between the south end of Quoin Island and another small islet to the +south-west, which from our operations on its south-eastern corner we +called Observation Island. The weather was very remarkable in the +evening--dark patches of clouds appearing in the western horizon, from +which vivid lightnings flashed, and loud peals of thunder roared. The +frightened stream of the sea-birds evinced how seldom nature puts on such +an aspect in this place. + +CAPTAIN WICKHAM ASCENDS THE VICTORIA. + +Before proceeding further with the ship, it was necessary to feel our way +with the boats. Whilst this was going on, Captain Wickham determined on +pushing up the river in the gig to ascertain if it was fresh sufficiently +near to water the ship from, when she had been taken as far up the +Victoria as it was possible. He left next morning on this more than +interesting trip. + +FITZMAURICE RIVER. + +The same afternoon Mr. Fitzmaurice returned, having, as we had suspected, +discovered a river that carried his boat thirty miles in an east +direction from the south end of McAdam Range. Towards the upper part it +was scarcely half a mile wide; but for an Australian stream was +remarkably free from bends, pursuing a straight course between rocky +heights, with a depth varying from two to seven fathoms. Many shoals +occurred towards the entrance, where in some places it was more than two +miles wide. This river was named Fitzmaurice River after its discoverer; +and the mouth or inlet of it, after his companion, Keys Inlet. + +In sounding the channel, I found that when the hill Captain Wickham and +myself were first on, behind Entrance Isle, was in a line with the north +end of the high land at the south side of the entrance, it formed a good +lead up. In consequence we named it Leading Hill, and the end of the +range alluded to, Indian Hill, from our constantly seeing smoke near it. +A flat of three or four fathoms at low-water extended across the channel, +with River Peak bearing between North 35 East and North 64 East. I +visited Indian Hill, but failed to meet with any of the natives, although +I saw their fires not far off in the hills to the south-west. It is a +ridge covered with blocks of sandstone, with a few trees here and there. +From its summit I had an extensive view of the low land stretching away +to the northward, and forming the western side of the channel. It +appeared so cut up with creeks as to form a mass of islands and mud +flats, which appeared from the quantity of drift timber, to be frequently +overflowed, and partially so apparently at high spring tides. The +farthest high land I saw bore west about twelve miles. + +MEMORIAL ON INDIAN HILL. + +I left here a paper in a bottle, giving an account of our proceedings, +and should have been sorry to think, as Wallis did when he left a similar +document on a mountain in the Strait of Magellan, that I was leaving a +memorial that would remain untouched as long as the world lasts. No, I +would fain hope that ere the sand of my life-glass has run out, other +feet than mine will have trod these distant banks; that colonization +will, ere many years have passed, have extended itself in this quarter; +that cities and hamlets will have risen on the banks of the new-found +river, that commerce will have directed her track thither, and that smoke +may rise from Christian hearths where now alone the prowling heathen +lights his fire. There is an inevitable tendency in man to create; and +there is nothing which he contemplates with so much complacency as the +work of his own hands. To civilize the world, to subdue the wilderness, +is the proudest achievement to which he can look forward; and to share in +this great work by opening new fields of enterprise, and leading, as it +were, the van of civilisation, fills the heart with inexpressible +delight. It is natural, therefore, as I traced the record of our visit +and deposited it on Indian Hill, that I should look forward in a mood +very far different from that of Wallis, to the speedy fruition of my +hopes. + +October 27. + +The winds for the last few days had been from West-North-West to +North-West, light after midnight to near noon, then moderate and +sometimes fresh. The tides, as they approached the springs, increased +their velocity, occasionally coming down in bores at the rate of four and +five knots. + +RETURN OF CAPTAIN WICKHAM. + +Captain Wickham returned this morning, having discovered the river to be +fresh about seventy miles above the ship. For some distance it had not +decreased in size, which was very delightful news. I had been several +times on the point of inquiring on this subject; but fearing an +unfavourable reply, hesitated. Now my hopes were at their highest pitch, +and I was quite impatient to start on an expedition up the river. + +On the 29th the ship was taken under my guidance up the river, as far as +the commencement of the long southerly reach. As the shoals in that part +had not been sufficiently examined, we proceeded to do so in the evening, +and two channels were discovered; one between a bank, dry at low-water, +and a covered patch of one and a half and two fathoms, and the other +between the covered bank and the east shore; the latter, although the +narrower, I found to be the better. The tides set direct through it, and +to keep close to the bank is a simple and sure guide. The least water is +four fathoms, half a fathom more than was found in the other, the +direction of which crossed the set of the tide when the bank on the west +side became covered. + +THE BEAGLE TAKEN UP THE VICTORIA. + +Next morning we moved the ship three miles further up into a bight on the +east side from which Endeavour Hill bore West 13 South two miles and a +half. + +The Beagle was now nearly fifty miles up the Victoria, and might have +gone seven miles further, but a valley holding out a hope that we might +find water by digging, and the distance at which the river was fresh +being too great for us to think of completing our stock from it, we +anchored abreast of it. Whilst on shore getting observations for the +errors of the chronometers in the afternoon, I could not avoid +soliloquising as I gazed on the ship lying surrounded by lofty rocky +heights, that towered above her masts till they appeared mere sticks. The +contrast forcibly presented itself between the comparative insignificance +to which she was reduced by the elevation of the hills around, and the +majestic appearance she was accustomed to bear when among the low lands +of which we had seen so much. The sight reminded me of early years of +wandering within the narrow arms of the sea in Tierra del Fuego, save and +except there were not the forests of ages to hide the nakedness of the +land, which even there was clothed to the water's edge. + +My companion reporting the instruments in the boat broke the reverie I +was indulging in; and on returning on board I found everyone busily +preparing for the expedition up the river. + + +CHAPTER 2.2. + +Exploration of the Victoria. +First appearance of Sea Range. +Curiosity Peak. +Appearance of Country from. +Whirlwind Plains. +Encounter with an Alligator. +His capture and description. +Cross Whirlwind Plains. +White and black ducks. +Kangaroos. +Enter hilly country. +Meet the boats. +Thunderstorm. +Carry boats over shoals. +New birds. +Reach Hopeless. +Progress of boats arrested. +Reconnoitre the river. +Prospect from View Hill. +Preparation for pedestrian excursion. +Leave Reach Hopeless to explore the upper part of the river. +Native village. +Squall. +Muscle Bend. +Meet Natives. +Successful fishing. +Party distressed. +Thirsty Flat. +Tortoise Reach. +Singular appearance of the ranges. +Effect of the great heat. +One man knocked up. +Approach of natives. +Preparation for defence. +Appearance of the natives. +Move further up the river. +Emu Plains. +Select position for night quarters. +Upward course of the Victoria. +Commence return. +Kangaroo shot. +Wickham Heights. +New Tortoise. +Lucky Valley. +Race was with a native. +Meet his tribe. +They make off. +Hard day's work. +Quarters for the night. +Return to Reach Hopeless. + +EXPLORATION OF THE VICTORIA. + +The expedition, consisting of the two large boats and gig, with Captain +Wickham, who was to show them the watering place, left the ship early on +the morning of the 31st of October. I was to follow in one of the +whaleboats, and explore the upper parts in company with Captain Wickham; +and after completing the survey near the ship, I was at last fairly off +to explore the Victoria with the first glimmer of light the morning +following, once more to revel in scenes where all was new. How amply is +the explorer repaid by such sights for all his toils! To ascend a hill +and say you are the first civilized man that has ever trod on this spot; +to gaze around from its summit and behold a prospect over which no +European eye has ever before wandered; to descry new mountains; to dart +your eager glance down unexplored valleys, and unvisited glens; to trace +the course of rivers whose waters no white man's boat has ever cleaved, +and which tempt you onwards into the bosom of unknown lands: these are +the charms of an explorer's life. + +Mr. Forsyth accompanied me. We landed nearly opposite the rugged ridge I +have before mentioned, for a few angles and bearings. Here we found two +native rafts of precisely the same construction as those we had +previously seen on the North-west coast, formed out of nine poles. The +shape the reader will remember from the sketch in that part of the work, +and with the exception of only two instances, where they appeared merely +temporary affairs, we have noticed no other kind of rafts in use. +Wherever this great similarity in their mode of water-conveyance +prevails, we may infer the natives have had communication with each +other. + +We passed the night in the end of a crooked reach, near the only rocky +islet in the river, lying four miles East-South-East from the furthest +point I had before attained. With the exception of a squall from +north-east in the afternoon, there was scarcely any wind, and the night +was cloudy with some slight showers of rain. As the mosquitoes allowed us +little rest, we were glad, when the day broke, to be again moving. We now +found the river take a north-east direction for eight miles, averaging in +width upwards of three-quarters of a mile, and in depth at low-water two +fathoms. A sudden change in the trend of the reaches brought in sight the +strange appearance of the country represented in the woodcut annexed. + +CURIOSITY PEAK. + +The peak on the right bank we named, from the passion it assisted us in +gratifying, Curiosity Peak. Landing at the foot we were not long reaching +the summit, although the thermometer was 90 degrees in the shade. The +river formed a remarkable feature in the landscape before us, to the +north-east; and behind it rose a high table-range of hills, from five to +six hundred feet in elevation. These were capped with low +reddish-coloured cliffs. + +WHIRLWIND PLAINS. + +At their feet stretched an extensive and seemingly boundless plain in a +north-east direction, whilst on the south-east side, and distant about +eighteen miles from where we stood, low ranges of hills were visible. +Here and there over the plains were many small whirlwinds appearing in +the distance like streaks of smoke curling upwards through the air. +These, though affording relief to the eye in the wide prospect that +opened before us, are fraught with danger when occurring on the river; +for on one occasion they nearly upset the gig, and threatened to consign +its crew to a watery grave. In the present instance they gave an impulse +to our invention, suggesting the propriety of designating the level tract +of country before us, Whirlwind Plains. The high land rising suddenly out +of it, and bounding it very abruptly on the north-west side, we named Sea +Range. We could trace the river passing along at its foot in an +East-North-East direction for nine miles, when it appeared to cross the +plain; a large island lying midway changed its course for a short +distance. + +I found a strange kind of fruit growing in a hollow, near the top of +Curiosity Peak; the tree was small and leafless, with the fruit hanging +in bunches about the size of a damascene plum, of the colour of a peach, +and containing a large stone. I afterwards had a pie made of this fruit, +which proved to be by no means bad eating. + +Besides the sandstone of which the peak is composed, I found a kind of +slate on the north-west side. Several banks showed themselves, leaving at +that time of tide scarcely a boat channel, although the river was a mile +wide at high-water. A great part of the day was occupied in collecting +material for the chart of this part, and we passed the night near the +foot of Curiosity Peak. On the grassy flat opposite, I killed five white +ibises at a shot. + +At sunset, I noticed large flocks of a rather small brown pigeon, +constantly flying from Whirlwind Plains to the north-west, and back again +in the morning. The mosquitoes did not give us any peace again this +night. + +ENCOUNTER AN ALLIGATOR. + +November 3. + +Starting early, we had just passed all the shoals in the neighbourhood of +Curiosity Peak, and entered a narrow part of the river, when the leadsman +in the bows of the boat reported, "A large alligator coming down the +stream, sir." Elated by the expectation of sport, we instantly grounded +the boat on the right bank to keep her steady, and waited anxiously for +the monster's approach. It will readily be believed, that every eye was +fixed upon him as he slowly advanced, scarcely disturbing the glassy +surface of the water, and quite unconscious of the fate that impended +over him. At length he came abreast, and about eighty yards off, only the +flat crown of his head, and the partly serrated ridge along his back, +appearing in sight. It was a moment of deep excitement for us all, and +everyone held his breath in suspense as I pointed my gun at the brute's +head. + +EFFECT OF A SHOT. + +I felt confident of hitting my mark; but judging from the little effect I +had produced on former occasions, scarcely dreamt of the execution my +ball actually did. It happened that to-day I was in excellent practice, +and had just hit a large wild dog, a long shot, making him jump high off +the ground; but this beast is as tenacious of life as a cat, and instead +of falling dead, he limped off and escaped. But to resume: I fired, and +never heard a ball strike with more satisfaction in my life. It laid the +alligator sprawling, feet uppermost. There was no time to be lost in +getting him on shore; two or three strokes with the oars brought us +alongside of the monster, as he floated on the surface of the stream. The +business was to attach a line to one of his legs; and as we knew that he +was not dead, but only stunned, this was rather a nervous operation. I +noticed indeed a hesitation among the men, as to who should venture, and +fearing lest our prize should escape, I seized the line and made it fast +to one of his fore-legs, when we proceeded to the shore, dragging him +alongside. Before reaching it, however, our friend gave signs of reviving +animation, and as we could not foresee to what extent he might regain his +activity, we dropped him astern, clear of the boat, fearing lest in +floundering about he might stave in her broadside. In doing so, moreover, +and by way of a sedative, I fired a charge of large shot at his head, the +muzzle of the gun not being a yard from it; and yet the only effect +produced, was a slight stupor of the intellectual faculties, evinced by a +momentary state of quiescence. + +THE ALLIGATOR ON SHORE. + +On reaching the shore, the men jumped out to haul the alligator up on the +dry land, and began to pull away vigorously. It was a comic scene to +witness. They expected to have some difficulty in performing their task; +but suddenly they found the rope slacken, and looking round beheld the +alligator walking up after them of his own accord, faster than was +pleasant. In their haste, endeavouring to keep the rope taut, one fellow +tripped up; and it was for a moment a question whether he would not be +snapped in two; the feeling of alarm, however, soon gave way to a sense +of the ludicrous, at beholding the manner in which he gathered himself up +into a ball and rolled out of the alligator's way. I thought it now high +time to take decisive measures, and with another shot altered the +intentions of the monster, who endeavoured to back towards the water. +Perhaps if he had been further away from it, I might have been tempted to +try Waterton's experiment. + +It was not before he had received six balls in the head, that he +consented to be killed. During the operation he exhibited something of +his savoir faire, by opening his mouth, that looked like a gigantic +man-trap, and suddenly shutting it with a loud snap, which made us +shudder, and forcibly recalled to mind the escape I had had a few days +before, from having my body embraced by such a pair of jaws. + +The reader will gather a good idea of their size from the woodcut; and +their power of holding will be shown in the description accompanying. The +view annexed represents the moment when the alligator received the first +shot on shore; the singular character of Sea Range is also shown, and the +small whirlwinds I have alluded to, as having the appearance of smoke. + +DESCRIPTION OF THE ALLIGATOR. + +Length of Alligator, 15 feet. From base of head to extreme of nose 2 feet +2 inches. Across the base of head, 2 feet. Length of lower jaw, 2 feet. +Teeth in both jaws, vary in size, and are variously disposed, as will be +seen above; in upper jaw on each side of maxillary bone, 18, 2 incisors. +Ditto in lower jaw, 15, 2 incisors. The largest teeth are 1 1/2 inch in +length. The two lower incisors are stronger and longer than the upper, +and project through two holes in front part of upper jaw. + +Breadth across the animal, from extreme of one fore foot, across the +shoulders to the other side, 5 feet 2 inches. The fore feet have each +five perfect toes; the three inner or first, have long horny nails, +slightly curved; the two outer toes have no nails, nor are they webbed. +The third and fourth toes are deeply webbed, allowing a wide space +between them, which is apparent even in their passive state. The hind +feet have four long toes; the first two are webbed as far as the first +joint, and the others are strongly webbed to the apex of last joint, the +last or outer toe has no nail. + +From the apex of tail, a central highly notched ridge runs up about +midway of it, and there splits into two branches, which pass up on each +side of the spine over the back, as far as the shoulders, gradually +diminishing in height to their termination. + +A central ridge runs down from the nape of the neck over the spinous +processes of the vertebrae (being firmly attached to them by strong +ligaments) as far down as the sacrum, diminishing to its termination +likewise. + +CONTENTS OF ITS STOMACH. + +All the alligator's stomach contained was about fourteen pounds of +pebbles, some of them measuring four inches in diameter. We were some +time skinning the monster, and after securing a little of the best part +of the flesh for eating,* proceeded on our way. + +(*Footnote. The writer supped off alligator steaks, and informs the +reader that the meat is by no means bad, and has a white appearance like +veal.) + +The river, as I have already said, ran along the base of Sea Range for +some distance, when it turned off across the plain in a south-east +direction. + +BANKS OF THE VICTORIA. + +The high land quite overlooked the stream, and enhanced the picturesque +effect of the trees that rose in rich green masses on the banks, which +were here only about half a mile apart. The depth, however, was two +fathoms, double what it had been for some distance before. We had now +fairly turned our backs on Sea Range, and were crossing the plains in a +south-east direction. On the part of the Victoria we had passed were a +few white ducks, with black or very dark brown wings. I noticed that the +bill and legs were of a very pale pink, and they had a pale yellow eye. +They were evidently the same bird that I had seen at Port Essington.* +They were scarce and not met with in other parts of the river. Kangaroos +were numerous on the banks, as we entered the plain, and during the day +were to be seen in numbers under the bushes near the water's edge. I +added one to our stock of fresh provisions, which with alligator steaks +and ducks, gave us a good supply to share with the other boats. We named +this part of the river Long Reach, from its carrying us nine miles in a +direct course, with a general width of a quarter of a mile, and a depth +of two and three fathoms. The banks were well defined, in many places +being a low line of cliffs six feet high, presenting to our view several +feet of brown soil, resting on a compact clay. This is the general +character of this extensive plain; and from the small size of the trees, +chiefly white gums, that are thinly scattered over it, we may infer that +it is land of recent formation. Two miles from the end of Long Reach, we +passed a sandy head, where the tide rises from three to ten feet. + +(*Footnote. Figured by Mr. Gould, as Tadorna radjah.) + +The river now took a south by west direction, for nearly two miles, a +little narrower, but three fathoms deep throughout. Towards the latter +part the banks were fringed with mangroves of a small and singularly even +growth, resembling a clipped garden shrubbery. Our course again changed +to south-east, entering the low range of hills bounding the south-eastern +side of Whirlwind Plains. It was long after dark when we reached so far. +We had passed the watering boats some distance further down on their way +to the ship. Our sudden meeting in the dark on the lonely river, had a +singular and romantic effect. Being anxious to join the gig, we pushed +on, and at midnight were surprised by a loud call from Captain Wickham, +who lay beneath the shadow of a high bank. It was a strange sound, this +English hail, to hear echoed in these wild hills, where only the shrill +cry of the savage had been borne on the blast before! + +THUNDERSTORM. + +I was sorry to find, that the tide did not at present rise sufficient to +admit the large boats into the fresh water, so that getting a load would +have been a very long operation, had it not been for a tremendous fall of +rain that followed a thunderstorm, deluging every pool, and at once +affording the means of filling the casks. This storm began at South-East +and drew round by east to North-West, from which quarter it blew strong +for an hour. The torrents of rain lasted two hours, and cooled the air so +rapidly, as in that time to reduce the thermometer from 92 to 82 degrees. +This change was so sudden, that it made those who felt it shiver as if it +were the depth of winter, and RUSH INTO THE RIVER WATER TO KEEP +THEMSELVES WARM. + +November 4. + +Both boats proceeded up the river at daylight. We started from the end of +Short Reach, trending East-North-East, and about four miles within the +range of hills, on the South-East side of the Plains. The first reach led +us a mile and a half in a South-East direction, and at the end of it a +flat of large boulders extended; across this we dragged the boats easily. +The river now took a turn from East-North-East to North, and at the end +of a mile we came to another extensive flat, quite dry. There was a deep +pool below it, with a precipitous hill, 350 feet high, on the eastern +side. This we called Steep Head, and its singular dark cliffy face, +frowning over the placid waters, gave an air of grandeur to the scenery. +Stretched out on the face of these cliffs, we left the skin of our friend +the alligator, to be taken to the ship by the watering boats when they +returned. + +SHOALS IN THE RIVER. + +There was now heavy work before us, with the thermometer at 93 degrees in +the shade: we had to drag the boats over the large flat that impeded our +progress. The way was made as smooth as possible, and plenty of rollers +laid, but an unlucky stone found its way through the thin plank of the +gig. Captain Wickham acted as head carpenter in repairing the damage, +which occupied so much time that it was dark before the boats were +floated in the deep water beyond. We dined on the bank, by the light of a +lantern hung on a tree. The tide at this place only rose two feet. + +SCENERY ON ITS BANKS. + +November 5. + +Taking advantage of the cool of the morning, we moved off with the early +dawn. A fine sheet of water lay before us, and everything promised well. +The vegetation looked stronger and richer. Above the growth of acacias +and drooping gums, that leant over the banks kissing their reflection in +the limpid waters, rose on each side high broken ranges. Their heights +had round summits, just beneath which, in some, could be traced a low +line of cliffs, so singularly characteristic of Sea Range. The very +marked dip in the strata did not extend beyond the latter, and here I +could not detect any. Flights of large vampires, whistling ducks, +many-coloured parakeets, and varieties of small birds, made the river +quite alive, and their continued cry of alarm gave vivacity to the scene, +and disturbed the stillness that had reigned there for years. Every +living thing is terrified at the sight of man. This reach of the Victoria +enabled Mr. Bynoe to add two new birds to his collection; one, a species +of pigeon, but resembling a small quail in its habits and size; the cerae +of the nose, the beak and the feet, were a pigeon's, but the flight and +the manner of running along the ground, where it kept, were those of a +quail. It was found in small families of eight or a dozen, very wild and +scarce, and was only seen in this part of the river. The only one we were +able to get, had a very long pointed crest. The colour was a light red, +with a white chin and a black band across the throat; the tips of the +wings were slightly bronzed. It is figured in Mr. Gould's work, from this +specimen, as Geophaps plumifera. + +SINGULAR BIRD. + +The other bird was of a species, that at first sight appeared to be a +teal. It went in small flocks, and as it got on the wing made a long +shrill plaintive kind of note. The deep glossy rifle-green colour of +their back, and the transparent streak of white across the wing, gave +them a most beautiful appearance, as the sun's rays lit up their rich +plumage in their circuitous flight round the boat. Their number did not +exceed twenty, and they too were only seen on this part of the river. +They were also very wary, which is singular in the inhabitants of a +wilderness, almost totally unfrequented by man. We only got one specimen, +by which we found that it had the head and bill of a goose. It was indeed +quite a goose in miniature. Although we never before or afterwards met +with this bird, it was seen at Port Essington, though of inferior +plumage, some time in 1840, and a specimen was obtained, from which Mr. +Gould has named it Nettapus pulchellas. The whistling duck of the +Adelaide River, was also only seen on this part of the Victoria. + +After proceeding north-east one mile and a half, and east two miles, we +came to a pretty little islet covered with palms and acacias, and rich +long grass. Numbers of large white waterlilies grew on its banks. The +river was now only an eighth of a mile wide, and two fathoms deep. This +still promised well. Scarcely, however, had we indulged in the hope that +the Victoria might yet convey the boats many miles into the interior, +when a shoal appeared. + +PROGRESS OF THE BOATS ARRESTED. + +Over this we got tolerably well, but at the end of two miles in an +East-South-East direction from Palm Island, all hopes were at an end of +proceeding farther in the boats, as for a great extent the river was +impassable for them. We found there was a large sheet of water beyond, +and then another dry patch. It would therefore have been useless labour +to attempt dragging the boats over any more of the dry parts. Two +conical-shaped hills, so much alike that we called them the Brothers, +bore North by West 1/2 West one mile. + +The thermometer was 101 degrees at noon in the shade. I shot some very +large dark-coloured ducks in the afternoon. Kangaroos were numerous. The +water was fresh soon after passing Palm Island. + +That we were thus finally deterred from proceeding farther with the +boats, was a source of deep mortification. Since the great flat we had +experienced so much difficulty in getting over yesterday, all had gone +well. Each turn in the river appeared more beautiful, and brought +something new to increase our interest; and we fondly imagined that great +discoveries were in store for us. But the fates had decreed otherwise, +and we were compelled to pause, after having ascended in the boats from +the ship above 75 miles. We named this reach, in consequence, Reach +Hopeless. + +November 6. + +It being evidently impracticable to proceed higher up in the boats; a +small party of us landed at daylight, in order to ascend a neighbouring +height, and thence to trace as far as possible the upward course of the +river, preparatory to a pedestrian excursion along its banks. Before +sunrise we reached the summit of a narrow ridge, trending East-South-East +1/2 a mile east, from where the boats were lying: in this singular ridge +I again noticed the dip to the south-east: it was composed of a variety +of rocks, jasper, a greyish kind of flinty indifferent limestone, and +greywacke. + +SINGULAR APPEARANCE OF THE RIVER. + +The view from it was very limited, the valley of the river turning short +to the northward, two miles east by south of our position, to which we +gave the name of Station Hill. Before I had finished my round of angles, +the heat had become so great that some of our party were compelled to +return to the boats, whilst myself, with two of the men, pushed on for +nearly two miles in an easterly direction, along the foot of some +table-topped hills, and were then gratified with another peep at the +river, which had a very singular appearance, in some places nearly dry, +discovering a wide bed of large pebbles: long narrow islands, whose shape +attested the former rapidity of the currents, covered with reeds and +acacias, and deep pools of standing water, were its most characteristic +features. Several kangaroos, alarmed by our approach, hastily quitted +their cool hidingplaces, presenting beautiful shots; but as the traces of +natives were both recent and numerous, we thought it most prudent to +reserve our fire, and shortly after, upon finding a native fire still +alight, to keep the open ground as much as possible. We travelled for a +long mile over a level flat of good soil, though now quite destitute of +vegetation, save some beautiful specimens of the truly evergreen gumtree. + +PROSPECT FROM VIEW HILL. + +At length we reached the summit of View Hill, and no effervescing draught +could have proved more really refreshing than the south-east breeze which +greeted us there. It is separated from the ranges to the southward by a +deep narrow valley. We noticed from it that the river evidently increased +in size, as traced upwards, and I was very glad to find that the delight +I experienced in making this discovery, was shared by my companions. We +traced it east for two long miles--a deep broad and picturesque stream: +beyond that limit it took a more southerly direction, apparently behind +some high tableland (Table Hill) 200 feet high. Beyond, and on the +eastern side of the valley of the river, rose a high peak, crowned by a +remarkable block of stone, to which we gave the name of The Tower. I made +a sketch of the scenery, and took a round of angles, and then we returned +to the boats. On our arrival we found the thermometer had been as high as +110 degrees at one P.M. The afternoon was occupied in selecting a party +of five out of the boats' crews, for a pedestrian excursion; and at +night, jaded as we were, it was almost impossible to sleep, owing to the +screeching noise of the vampires, and the howling of the native dogs. + +PREPARATIONS FOR A PEDESTRIAN EXCURSION. + +November 7. + +Making slings and packing provisions for an early start to-morrow morning +occupied the greater part of the day. Mr. Bynoe, as he had done +yesterday, added to his valuable collection a few rare birds, and strange +plants; while I took several readings of the barometer, morning and +evening, for the elevation of the bed of the river: the mean gave a +resulting height of thirty feet. + +Our bivouac at Reach Hopeless, was under the shade of a cluster of +drooping gumtrees, which secreted in their thick foliage, numbers of a +bird figured by Mr. Gould as Tripidorhynchus argenticeps. These kept up a +constant amusing chatter, in which we could frequently detect an exact +imitation of the words Walk Up, when spoken sharply. A kangaroo Mr. Bynoe +had shot, and hung on a tree, drew the attention of birds of prey, +consisting of two kinds of hawks, one of a dark brown, almost black, and +another a lighter shade of the same colour, resembling copper, with a +great deal of white about the head; so that we were surrounded with +feathered companions. + +The wind as usual was East-North-East in the morning, and North-West in +the evening. The thermometer ranged from 97 to 112 degrees during the +day, and fell to 90 degrees at night; during which we noticed several +meteors in the north and north-west falling perpendicularly. + +November 8. + +Our little band left the boats before daylight, the morning being +agreeably cool (temperature 85 degrees). Captain Wickham had intended +heading this most interesting expedition himself, but feeling indisposed, +the party was eventually placed under my command, and in addition to +myself, consisted of Mr. Bynoe, surgeon; Mr. Forsyth, mate; George Knox, +Robert Gower, and William Willing, seamen; John Brown, and Richard +Martin, marines. Besides provisions for six days, and arms, we had with +us the following instruments: large sextant, small sextant, artificial +horizon, chronometer, two compasses, spyglass, watch, lantern, and +measuring tape. + +Our route was that of yesterday to View Hill, and we reached the river a +mile to the eastward by half-past seven A.M. We halted here for ten +minutes to skin a kangaroo, which I had shot as we crossed the plain; a +piece of good fortune that induced me to determine upon leaving a part of +our provisions at the first convenient spot. We found the banks of the +river thickly clothed with tall reeds, through which with some difficulty +we forced our way. To the north-west the high land receded from the +river, having an extensive, and apparently alluvial flat between its base +and the course of the stream. + +After a brief halt, we proceeded in an East 16 degrees South direction. +Two miles good walking brought us to the head of a deep gully, the banks +of which were covered with tall reeds; we followed its course nearly due +north to the river, which it joined near the foot of the high land I have +before spoken of. The bed of the stream was dry here in patches for half +a mile. As none of our party had been recently accustomed to much +pedestrian exercise, and we had been travelling for nearly five hours +over a broken country, and in a temperature varying from 87 to 100 +degrees in the shade, I thought it time to halt and dine. While dinner +was being prepared, Mr. Bynoe and myself shot three brace of rare ducks, +of a small light grey kind, in the pools near. I afterwards accompanied +Mr. Forsyth to get some bearings from an elevation on the north side of +the river. + +COURSE OF THE VICTORIA. + +Towards the south-east we perceived a very decided break in the hills, +through which I hoped to trace the course of the Victoria, that being the +direction of the centre of this vast continent: in this however we were +disappointed, for the river turned short round to the north-east. The +banks were so high, and so thickly covered with tall reeds, that it was +only by the very green appearance of the trees about its banks that its +course could be made out. The temperature at one P.M. in the sun was 127 +degrees. Knowing how impossible it was to avoid being tracked by the +natives, should they wish it, even upon the hardest ground, and that in +the event of their doing so any buried stores would be forthwith +discovered, and yet anxious to disencumber the party of any superfluous +load, I directed one of the men to take the 8-pound canister of preserved +meat and throw it into a thick cluster of reeds and palms, about thirty +yards distant; and after taking a set of sights for longitude, +recommenced our journey to half-past three P.M. in a north-east +direction; passing through a lightly timbered plain, that had been +evidently at no distant date exposed to the ravages of fire. At half-past +four we came to a bend of the river, trending North 56 degrees East and +South 22 degrees West. Passing several trees still on fire near the +river, after another short halt, which the state of the atmosphere no +less than the nature of the ground rendered desirable, we resumed our +north-east course, but were compelled to make a considerable westerly +detour, in order to clear the deep watercourses intersecting the banks at +this place, and which, extending nearly to the base of the hills, +rendered the fatigues and labours of the march additionally and +needlessly heavy. + +NATIVE VILLAGE. + +Just before dark we came upon a native village, near the foot of a bare +rocky hill, having a northern aspect, and lying about one mile south-west +of the river. It contained thirteen huts of paper-bark, standing in a +bare stony plain, and with no signs of being at this time inhabited. We +found here considerable difficulty in forcing our way through the tall +and thickly growing reeds which lined the bank. The next reach in the +river trended North-West for about a mile, and then turned off +North-North-East at the foot of a high rocky range. The next turn in the +course brought us upon a yet burning native fire. Under ordinary +circumstances such an indication of the near presence of natives, of +whose intentions, whether hostile or otherwise, I had no means of +judging, would have induced me to take up open quarters for the night, +which was now closing in upon us; but the threatening aspect of the sky +to the south-east led me to prefer a spot sheltered by the luxuriant +foliage which here fringed the river's banks. + +VIOLENT SQUALL. + +The squall reached us at seven. The wind, which had been at south-east, +veering to north, and the thermometer falling five degrees; it lasted for +about an hour, during which time the harsh screams of the affrighted +birds--the moaning of the wind--the awful roll of thunder, and the +fearful brilliancy of the lightning, combined to supply all the terrible +beauty which invests such scenes; especially when they surprise the +startled adventurer upon his unknown path, and add their hostile +influence to the unreckoned dangers that await his progress. The only +means we had of preserving our only suit of clothes dry from the +drenching showers of rain was by taking them off, and stuffing them into +the hollow of a tree, which in the darkness of the night we could do with +propriety. + +Within an hour the weather had cleared up, and was as fine as before the +squall. The change came just in time for me to secure a meridian altitude +of Achernar, which, with a set of sights for time, completed the +requisite observations. We noticed a singular meteor in the +East-South-East about 8 o'clock this evening, darting perpendicularly +UPWARDS: it lasted for ten seconds: between the hour mentioned and +midnight, we saw a great many, passing chiefly from south-east to +north-west. At nine, having set the watches for the night, we lay down to +sleep, and passed a quiet night with a temperature of 85 degrees, and a +north-west wind. + +November 9. + +We started early the following morning, after having obtained a set of +bearings, and followed the bank of the river to the north-west for half a +mile, then forded it and took a north-easterly direction, passing close +to the foot of some hills forming the south side of the valley of the +river, which at this place is scarcely a mile wide. High tableland formed +the west side of it, and low broken ranges trending east, bounded it in +that direction. + +MUSSEL BEND. + +The bend above where we slept we called Mussel Bend, from our finding +several there: they appeared similar to those found by Oxley in the +Macquarie. The country over which we travelled the first part of the day +was exceedingly stony, and wore a most uninviting appearance. + +While the party halted to skin a kangaroo I had been so fortunate as to +shoot; I ascended the top of a neighbouring hill to make a sketch, and +get some bearings. From this elevation I traced the river in a north-west +direction for three miles, and I gazed with rapture, only known to the +discoverer, upon a clear and magnificent expanse of water, yet greatly +dismayed at its northerly direction. To the north-east was an extensive +and apparently alluvial flat; while to the westward, the high land +approached the river. It is worthy of remark, that so far as our +observation extended, wherever the hills approach the river on one side +they recede from it on the other. + +DISCOVERED BY NATIVES. + +Continuing in a more easterly direction in order to avoid the deep +watercourses near the banks, we found the country wore a much less arid +appearance, and changing our direction to North-North-West in order to +ascend some high ranges distant two miles and a half, overlooking the +east bank of the river, we came suddenly upon some native tracks, and +presently surprised two children, who scampered down the bank in very +natural alarm, and were soon lost among the tall reeds. A little further +on we passed within 200 yards of three women carrying bundles of bark at +their backs; their anxiety for their children had allowed us to approach +thus close unseen; but no sooner were we discovered, than they raised a +shout which was answered from the heights on our right, and from the +banks of the river on our left, by parties evidently too numerous to +render it prudent to attempt a nearer meeting. We therefore held on our +way without appearing to notice them. They were quite naked, with the +exception of a slight covering of bark round their waists. We halted at +half-past ten A.M. in an open spot in the dry bed of the river, +overlooked by a high table hill. Our party looked very much distressed +from their half-day's work. The weather had been very close, and a good +deal of the walking over broken ground; and these circumstances, coupled +with the fact that the thermometer stood at 107 degrees in the shade, and +that all had been for a long time cooped up in a small vessel, will fully +explain and account for the general fatigue. + +SUCCESSFUL FISHING. + +In a pool of the river near our resting place, I caught, within an hour, +some dozen good-sized fish: using a bait of kangaroo flesh. There were +two sorts, one of the shape of a trout, and ten inches long; it had a +dirty orange-yellow belly, and a muddy bronze back; the lower hole of the +nose had a raised margin. The other measured seven inches, and resembled +in shape a small fish at home, known to all schoolboys as the +prickle-back; it was curiously marked, having five spots nearly black on +each side, near the ridge of the back; the ground around them was a dark +glossy brown; the belly was a slightly shining white, reaching as far up +as the lower line of the eye and the margin of the spots. + +While Mr. Bynoe was occupied in making sketches of them, which have been +transmitted to Dr. Richardson, Mr. Forsyth and myself ascended a +neighbouring hillock, and traced the river in a westerly direction for +two miles; it then turned round to North-North-East: a deep narrow valley +separated it from the higher land to the eastward. The bed of the river +at this place, though partly dry, was wider than we had hitherto seen it, +and the trees upon its banks still showed evident signs of being washed +by a mountain torrent. After making a set of observations for longitude, +we started again at 3 o'clock P.M. taking a north-west direction over a +flat of tolerably fine light mould. Near here a party of natives crossed +the river, in the direction of those we had first seen: perhaps to effect +a junction of forces and demand the meaning of our strange intrusion. We +took an East 1/2 North direction across the flat, but finding the ground +very broken and stony, intersected by deep watercourses, and rendered +additionally impracticable by high grass and thick reeds, we were +compelled, after getting half across, to make the best of our way to the +river. + +FATIGUE OF THE PARTY. + +It was intensely hot, not a breath of air stirring, and to add to our +misfortunes, we had inadvertently dined off the contents of a canister of +salt meat. We reached the river at half-past five, being all of us pretty +well knocked up with heat, fatigue, and thirst: one of our party, I heard +afterwards, drank nearly TWO QUARTS of water at a draught. + +Further on in this reach, I determined to occupy quarters for the night; +it was wide and deep, trending East by South, but shut in about a mile +above our present position by a dry patch of stones, with clear banks on +either side. As we were now in what appeared to be a rather thickly +populated district of the country, it was requisite to choose a position +beyond the reach of sudden attack. Having consulted our security as much +as possible in this particular, I took, before dark, the necessary +bearings and angles for the survey, and was delighted to observe that the +valley of the river again trended away to the southward. We had a cool +breeze after dark from the north-west, and the thermometer went down to +90 degrees. I had scarcely secured observations for latitude and +longitude, before a squall from the south-east, accompanied by heavy +rain, recalled the scene of last night. + +CHARM OF DISCOVERY. + +The same screams from the same kind of birds, disturbed in their roosting +places, and the same mournful howling of the wind, as it swept fitfully +through the trees that overshadowed us, broke the silence that had +reigned around our solitary fire, and exercised their wondrous power over +the imagination. In a few moments my thoughts were borne on to the very +heart of this mysterious country, over many a dreary plain, where thirst, +fatigue, and hunger were all forgotten. It is impossible to define the +exact nature of the charm which particular minds find in the perils and +adventures of discovery, whether on the shore or over the wave. Certain, +however, it is, that scarce any motive of human exertion can compete with +it in the powers of endurance it supplies to its votaries. + +The squall served to clear the air, and was succeeded by a cool breeze +from the north-west. The thermometer down to 87 degrees. + +THIRSTY FLAT. + +Yet cool, as comparatively speaking, the nights are here, still I could +not but remark that the ground never became so; and this I imagine to be +one of the principal causes of that fatigue from which some of our party +suffered so much: during my watches I invariably noticed some poor fellow +or another vainly trying to secure the rest of which he stood so much in +need: rolling with restless anxiety from side to side, and sometimes in +absolute despair, starting up on his feet: neither could I fail to note +the wearying effect these broken slumbers produced, symptoms of which +showed themselves more plainly each morning. + +Having provided myself with the means of calculating the latitude, I +worked the observations I had taken during the night. It placed the spot +of our bivouac in 15 degrees 29 minutes South. We estimated our distance +from the boats, having carefully timed ourselves each march, at 23 miles; +10 in an east, general direction, and 13 North-East by North. + +November 10. + +We pushed onwards in the cool of the morning, taking a South 20 degrees +West direction, for three miles, crossing the eastern part of the flat to +which we yesterday gave the name of Thirsty Flat, and found the soil a +light mould, covered with long dry grass. This brought us to a bend in +the river, trending in rather a tortuous manner east, and passing through +a wide valley, with table ranges, varying from 5 to 600 feet on either +side. Towards their summits there were perpendicular cliffs of some 30 or +40 feet, similar to the high land of Sea Range. The country just here was +so thickly wooded that I was obliged to climb a tree in order to get the +bearings. We noticed some very curious black horizontal streaks on the +hills in our immediate vicinity. We crossed the river, or rather over its +bed--a patch of stones--and found some shells of the water-tortoise at +the remains of a native fire on the bank: we named the reach Tortoise +Reach, in consequence. Here too Mr. Bynoe added some rare and beautiful +specimens of finches to his collection. + +ENERVATING EFFECT OF THE GREAT HEAT. + +The cool north-west wind had now deserted us, and though yet scarcely +nine o'clock A.M. the thermometer stood at 105 degrees. I had again the +good fortune to shoot a kangaroo: it was a long cross-shot, the animal +going at speed. Our route now lay across a barren stony plain, of which +the vegetation it might once have boasted had been burnt off: the +blackened ground, heated by the fierce rays of the sun, seemed still to +us on fire. In crossing a creek which lay in our path, and which we +managed to do by means of a fallen tree, Mr. Forsyth showed symptoms of +being struck with the sun, but a little water, which I was happy enough +to get from the creek, revived him. Several others of the party also +complained of the trying effects of the great heat; after a short rest, I +therefore determined on making for the river, which we arrived at in half +an hour, near a bed of dry rocks, but with the reaches on either side +wide and deep, and shut in by steep banks. By this time one of the men +was seriously indisposed; all hopes, therefore, of proceeding much +further upon this most interesting expedition I was compelled, though +very reluctantly, to abandon. This was still the more a subject of deep +regret, because the present width, and the south-easterly direction which +the river now appeared to take, gave me just hopes that great progress +might be made in the desired direction in the course of another day: +while I felt satisfied that we were abandoning the course of a river +whose undiminished magnitude made each mile's journey along its banks of +increased interest, and which I felt convinced would, if followed out, +conduct us far towards the heart of this terra incognita. + +The weather continued calm and close; temperature at noon, in the shade +110 degrees. I noticed a difference in the bed of the river at the place +where we prepared dinner: hitherto the dry spots, which from time to time +we passed over, or halted upon, were strewn about with large boulders; +here, however, we were encamping near a very remarkable rocky ledge, +dipping to the south-east, and of the same character as the rocks on the +sea coast, when seen at low-water. + +APPROACH OF NATIVES. + +Scarcely had we disposed of our invalid as comfortably as circumstances +would admit, under a bank overshadowed by acacias and gumtrees, when we +heard the shrill voices of an evidently large body of natives, concealed +by the foliage on the opposite bank of the river, which was just here +quite dry, and not more than eighty yards across. + +PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE. + +As I had no means of knowing either their number or intentions, it was +necessary to make the best preparations that time and place would allow +for defence, should it unhappily become necessary: a contingency which, +in the debilitated condition of all the party, now too deprived +altogether of the aid of one of its members, I could not contemplate +without some anxiety. I directed the men to occupy such situations in the +long grass as would give the most deceptive appearance to our numbers, +and stationed Mr. Bynoe, Mr. Forsyth, and myself where, if required, we +could act most effectually. These preparations were hardly complete, when +two natives, accompanied by a large cream-coloured dog that howled +mournfully, came down suddenly, shouting "Ho! ho!" upon the opposite +bank, as though more clearly to reconnoitre our position. They were fine +looking men, with bushy hair and spare limbs, quite naked, and apparently +unarmed--a usual indication among the aborigines of Australia that their +intentions are peaceful. They amused themselves for a time by making all +sorts of gestures, shouting still "ho! ho!" to those of their body in +concealment, from whom they had probably been detached for observation. +What they thought of us, strange intruders as we must have appeared to +them, it is not possible fully even to imagine; at any rate they seemed +impressed with some sort of respect either for our appearance, jaded as +we were, or our position, and forbore any nearer approach. I was of +course very glad that no appeal to force was necessary: in the first +place I should very reluctantly have resorted to it against those to whom +we appeared in the character of invaders of a peaceful country, and in +the second, had one of our party been wounded, the consequent delay would +have rendered our return to the boats certainly a work of great +difficulty, perhaps wholly impossible; for no considerations of +expediency would in my mind have justified the abandonment of a +defenceless comrade, wounded in the common cause, either to the natural +dangers and privations of the country, or the barbarous revenge of its +inhabitants. They continued in force, upon the opposite bank, for some +time, and then gradually withdrew. I may remark that the condition and +appearance of the two who made themselves visible, indicated their +residence in a country fitted to supply abundantly all natural wants. I +should also state that I could not perceive that extraordinary +exaggeration of a certain Jewish ceremony, that prevailed in one part of +King Sound. + +APPEARANCE OF THE NATIVES. + +It is to be regretted that our position would not allow us to seek the +acquaintance of these people. I could not help comparing the bold, +fearless manner in which they came towards us--their fine manly bearing, +head erect, no crouching or quailing of eye--with the miserable objects I +had seen at Sydney. I now beheld man in his wild state; and, reader, rest +assured there is nothing can equal such a sight. Before me stood two of +the aboriginal inhabitants of Australia who had never, until then, +encountered the hitherto blighting look of a European. + +After a long rest, we were enabled to move on again slowly in the cool of +the evening, along the south bank of the river, followed by one of the +native dogs, that differed only from those I had seen on other parts of +the coast, in being rather larger. + +EMU PLAINS. + +Two miles further brought us into a fine open plain, over which two emus +were going best pace; we therefore named it in their honour: while the +valley to the southward was christened after the Beagle, and the ranges +on either side bore the names of her former and present commander: those +to the north-east and south-west were called, after the officers who +accompanied me, Forsyth and Bynoe Ranges. The soil on Emu Plains was far +superior to any we had seen since leaving the boat, and was lightly and +picturesquely timbered with the white gum. We were very cautious in +choosing our sleeping berth for the night, to avoid a surprise during the +dark; we therefore selected a friendly hollow beneath the stem of a +straggling and drooping old gumtree, large enough to conceal the whole +party, near the centre of a great patch of pebbles, with the river, on +one side, within a hundred yards of us, and on the other, distant about +three hundred. + +Those who are practically conversant with such positions as this, will +readily call to mind what a safeguard from any nightly approach was +afforded by the loose pebbles that surrounded us, upon which not even the +unshod foot of a native could fall without so much of accompanying noise +as would serve to put the watch with his ear to the ground upon the qui +vive: this was proved to be the case during the night, when we distinctly +heard the footsteps of the prowling savages. We had no squall, and except +this interruption, the howling of native dogs, and the shrill peculiar +whistle of a flock of vampires constantly flying backwards and forwards +over our heads, we slept in peace in our comfortable little retreat. + +UPWARD COURSE OF THE VICTORIA. + +Our last regretful view of this part of the Victoria--for every member of +our little band seemed to feel an equal interest in the subject--was +taken from a position in latitude 15 degrees 36 minutes and longitude 130 +degrees 52 minutes East; 140 miles distant from the sea: but still 500 +miles from the centre of Australia. Its apparent direction continued most +invitingly from the southward--the very line to the heart of this vast +land, whose unknown interior has afforded so much scope for ingenious +speculation, and which at one time I had hoped, that it was reserved for +us to do yet more in reducing to certainty. And though from the point +upon which I stood to pay it my last lingering farewell, the nearest +reach of water was itself invisible, yet far, far away I could perceive +the green and glistening valleys through which it wandered, or rather +amid which it slept; and the refreshing verdure of which assured me, just +as convincingly as actual observation could have done, of the constant +presence of a large body of water; and left an indelible impression upon +my mind, which subsequent consideration has only served to deepen, that +the Victoria will afford a certain pathway far into the centre of that +country, of which it is one of the largest known rivers. + +When I had at length most reluctantly made up my mind that all further +progress along the banks of the Victoria must be abandoned, I left the +spot of our temporary encampment, and proceeded alone a short distance in +the direction of the interior; as though partly to atone, by that single +and solitary walk towards the object of my eager speculation, for the +grievous disappointment I experienced at being compelled to return. It +was something, even by this short distance, to precede my companions in +the exciting work of discovery--to tread alone the solitary glades upon +which, till now, no native of the civilized West had set his foot--and to +muse in solemn and unbroken silence upon the ultimate results of the work +to which the last few days had been devoted--to mark the gradual but +certain progression of civilization and christianity--and to breathe +forth, unwitnessed and uninterrupted, the scarce coherent words of +thankful adoration for the providential care which had hitherto sustained +and directed us. + +RETURN HOMEWARDS. + +November 12. + +I found our invalid so much recovered to-day, that I determined on making +a short march homewards in the cool of the early morning. We reached +Tortoise Reach by 8 o'clock A.M. where we passed the day. During our +morning's walk I again had the luck to knock over a kangaroo. It was a +female, and had a very young one in its pouch. It is worthy of remark +that most of those I killed were does, with young ones of different ages, +which afforded Mr. Bynoe the means of making some interesting +observations on the manner in which they are brought forth, which will be +found further on in the part of the work relating to Houtman's Abrolhos, +where more opportunities occurred of arriving at a satisfactory result. +Mr. Bynoe added here to his collection of birds, to which also, I was so +fortunate as to be able to contribute a beautiful specimen of a +rifle-green glossy ibis, common in Europe. I tried the water with a very +roughly manufactured fly: the fish rose repeatedly at it, though there +was scarcely a ripple, and notwithstanding my own want of success under +these unpropitious circumstances, I feel perfectly satisfied that with +proper tackle, and on a favourable day, this prince of sports might be +enjoyed on the Victoria. + +WICKHAM HEIGHTS. + +I availed myself of the opportunity of our halt at this place to wash my +only suit, piece by piece, and afterwards made a sketch of the +north-eastern part of Wickham Heights from the dry flat in the reach. The +woodcut annexed will convey at once to the reader, those singular +features in the hills--the low line of cliffs resembling fortifications +near their summit, and, still more remarkable, the horizontal black +streaks near their base. + +NEW TORTOISE. + +We here found the back-shell of one of the largest of the +water-tortoises, from which the reach was named. It measured ten inches, +was very narrow at the fore part, where the continuous line of the margin +was broken by an arch where the head protrudes, and was much expanded +posteriorly. It resembled greatly the Chelidona oblonga, inhabiting +Western Australia, with the exception of the arch and its more oval +shape; and as in that kind, the last vertebral plate was divided by a +suture. A shell of a Victoria River tortoise has been deposited in the +British Museum. We here noticed many varieties of turbinated shells, and +among them a small buccinum; beside mussels. At a native fireplace I saw +heaps of the latter, as well as the bones of young alligators; portions +of the jaws with teeth were picked up. + +The temperature during the day ranged from 90 to 105 degrees in the +shade. A light breeze from north-west in the evening succeeded a long +calm. Before sunset I got a peep at the eastern side of a valley, before +noticed, in the direction of our route back, and felt convinced that by +crossing it we should avoid Thirsty Flat, and shorten the route to the +boats. + +LUCKY VALLEY. + +November 13. + +Our walk this morning fully realized all my expectations of the preceding +evening, for by 8 o'clock A.M. we reached the dining place of the second +day. To record the satisfaction we felt in escaping a second journey over +Thirsty Flat, by following the valley we had seen yesterday evening, we +named it Lucky Valley. After a brief halt, we pushed on, and by eleven, +were at our old quarters in Mussel Bend. We heard the voices of natives +in all directions, far and near, and as I found the party still +astonishingly fresh, and eager to proceed, I thought it best to keep +going. We therefore continued our journey, and just before dark reached +the spot where we had dined the first day. Here, however, the cheerful +excitement of our pleasant and shady walk through Lucky Valley having +gone off, the men felt the effects of their long day's march, and were +all more or less knocked up. + +RACE WITH A NATIVE. + +Near the river, as we were approaching our intended bivouac, we came upon +a native walking leisurely across the plain, and so intently occupied in +poising and straightening his spear, and fixing it in the throwing stick, +that he allowed me, being in advance of the rest, to get within sixty +yards of him: I then loudly hailed him. He cast one look of utter and +indescribable astonishment at the strange being who thus interrupted his +pathway over his native soil, and was off at the top of his speed. Little +anticipating that I should soon have to test in earnest the fleetness of +these people, I tried rates with him for a short distance, and remarked, +with surprise, that he had not that superiority of speed which might have +been expected. Perhaps fright deprived him of his full powers, for what +must have been his sensations on finding himself almost cut off by a +party of beings whose very existence was till then unknown to him? I have +since half regretted that I did not see how much nearer I could have +approached without discovery, but at the time I did not wish to frighten +him too far. To have got so near as I did will seem almost incredible to +those who recollect the wary character, and the peculiarly restless and +vigilant eye of the savage: some strong emotion of love or hate had for +the time perhaps rendered him quite unconscious of all surrounding +objects! + +We came on the river over a steep bank covered with high reeds, and as a +party of natives were distinctly audible below, myself, Mr. Forsyth, and +Mr. Bynoe led the way. The natives crossed immediately, and were visible +for a few moments through the foliage on the other side: however, they +appeared but to wait in order to verify the astonishing report just +brought in by their breathless countryman; for as the foremost of our +party emerged from the tall reeds, our opposite neighbours slowly drew +off, and were soon hid in the dense obscurity their position afforded. +They had evidently examined our old fireplace very minutely, but the +precaution taken to preserve the meat canister had luckily been +successful. + +QUARTERS FOR THE NIGHT. + +I selected the quarters for the night not without some anxiety, for the +natives were evidently in force in our immediate neighbourhood, and their +shrill cries kept us all awake, though the day's march had been an +arduous one. We had made good upwards of twenty miles: the ground, except +in Lucky Valley, was of a most trying character: the thermometer at noon +102 degrees, and with nearly 150 pounds weight among seven of us, for the +sick hand was of course relieved as far as possible. I got the requisite +observation for latitude during the night; and since necessity is ever +the mother of invention, read off my sextant by a torch made for the +occasion from pieces of paperbark. It will easily be believed, that I did +not needlessly prolong the work; for the light of the torch rendered me a +prominent mark for any prowling savage to hurl his spear at: however, His +Eye, to whom the darkness and the light are both alike, watched over our +safety, and we spent the night in security if not in silence. + +November 14. + +The morning broke, and we found ourselves apparently alone in the +solitudes of the forest: no sound or sign indicated the presence of its +more rightful proprietors. Did the savage so soon prepare to yield to the +advancing movement of that hitherto fatal civilization before which his +name, his race, nay, all traces of his rude existence may ere long pass +into oblivion? or did the gathering of the night, and the apparent +peaceful aspect of the morn, denote that one gallant struggle would be +made ere a strange shout of triumph woke the silent echoes with the +glorious name with which we had dignified our new discovery, and which +throughout the world sounds as the appropriate title of the fair +sovereign of its mightiest people? + +RETURN TO REACH HOPELESS. + +A rapid walk brought us to our old bivouac by ten o'clock, without +anything of particular interest having occurred upon the route. We found +only one boat at Reach Hopeless, Captain Wickham having gone down the +river with the others in order to hasten the watering party. In another +chapter will be found some more detailed remarks upon the peculiar and +distinctive character of the Victoria; they will not be uninteresting to +the reader who feels any of that curiosity which is in part an incitement +to the discoverer. + +We learnt from the party at the boat that a large body of the natives had +been down watching their movements, and apparently intending if possible +to surprise them. Though they had approached very near, they would not +have been seen but for a shooting party, which got a view of them from an +overlooking height, crawling along the ground with evident caution. They +were probably the same party we had encountered higher up, and had traced +our trail backwards, in order to see whence, and in what force we had +entered their territory. Little did they imagine, as they gazed upon our +small party and its solitary boat, that they had seen the harbingers of +an approaching revolution in the fortunes of their country! + + +CHAPTER 2.3. VICTORIA RIVER. + +Proceed down the river from Reach Hopeless. +Meet watering party. +One of the men deserts. +Kangaroo shooting. +The writer left to complete survey of river. +Silk cotton-tree. +Fertility of Whirlwind Plains. +Attempt of one of the crew to jump overboard. +Reach the Ship. +Suffer from sore eyes. +Lieutenant Emery finds water. +Geological specimens. +Bird's Playhouse. +Tides. +Strange weather. +Range of Barometer. +Accounted for by proximity of Port Essington. +Hurricane. +Effects of the latter. +Dreary country behind Water Valley. +Fruitless attempt to weigh ship's anchors. +Obliged to slip from both of them. +Proceed down the river. +Complete survey of Main Channel. +Visit south Entrance Point of river. +Discover a number of dead turtles. +Cross over to Point Pearce. +Mr. Bynoe shoots a new finch. +The Author speared. +Pursued by natives. +Escape. +Flight of natives. +Armed party pursue them. +Night of suffering. +General description of the Victoria. +Gouty-stem tree and fruit. + +REUNION OF THE BOATS. + +November 13. + +The day was devoted to fixing the position of several of the surrounding +hills; and in the afternoon we obtained observations for rating the +chronometers: I found that one by French, which I had worn in my pocket, +had gone most admirably. Captain Wickham joined us in the gig after dark. +The evening was cloudy, and we had a sharp squall at midnight from +south-east. + +November 14. + +Both boats were moved off down the river at daylight, and ere it had +passed away, the ford above Steep Head was left behind. We found that the +watering boats had not got over the shallow below, so that we spent the +night together; and a merry party we made. We talked over all we had +seen, and the hills that rose around echoed back for the first time the +laugh and the song of civilized man, and our strange language was +repeated as glibly by the rocks of Australia as if they were those of our +own native land. So true is it that nature is ever ready to commune +familiarly with us, whereas by our very brethren we are looked upon as +enemies to shun, and are incapable of making ourselves understood by +them. + +A DESERTER. + +When the morning of the 15th broke it was discovered that one of the men +belonging to the watering party had deserted during the night. He had +been guilty of this offence once before, in order to steal the spirits +which had been buried for the use of my exploring party. What however +could have induced him to take this step a second time--risking, without +any apparent motive, the danger of being left on a strange, and almost +uninhabited coast, it would be difficult even to suggest. Parties were +immediately despatched in quest of him, and at length, after an arduous +search, he was found behind a large sandstone rock on the side of a hill; +having revisited the spot where the provisions had been concealed for the +use of my party, in the hope of obtaining possession of his god the +rum-keg. He had evidently prepared for desertion: clothing, biscuit, and +fishing-tackle being among the stores with which he had made off. This +despicable wretch--for such must everyone consider the man who would +steal his shipmates' provisions, when each had only his bare +allowance--had nothing to say, either in extenuation or explanation of +his conduct. Most fortunate for him was it that our humane exertions to +discover his retreat were successful; he could not long have subsisted by +himself, and even had he been so happy as to fall in with, and receive +hospitable welcome from the natives, he must of necessity have lingered +out a life of toilsome, cheerless hardship while a companion of their +wanderings, and when unfitted for this by old age, he would, according to +the custom of the country, have been left to die, unfriended and alone, +upon the spot where his last weary efforts failed. The delay occasioned +by this extraordinary and unlooked-for event, made it late by the time +all the boats were fairly on their way down the river. The wind was light +from the north-east, and the temperature about 90 degrees, at 9 o'clock. + +NEW KANGAROO. + +I pushed on to gain a station at the commencement of the hills on the +eastern side of Whirlwind Plains, and also, if possible, to shoot a +kangaroo to send to the ship:* I was so fortunate as to secure two; one +of a new species, very small, and of a dark brown colour, with coarse +hair, I found in rocky land, which it appears solely to inhabit, as it +was also found near the ship. As, however, like the generality of +kangaroos, this species only move of their own accord in the night time, +they are rarely seen, and but one good specimen was obtained by +Lieutenant Emery, who brought it to England, and submitted it to Mr. +Gould, who has described it as Petrogale concinna. It is now in the +British Museum. + +(*Footnote. I had now become quite an adept in this kind of sport. My +plan was to direct a man to walk along near the river, where they are +generally found, whilst I kept considerably above him and a little in +advance, so that all those that were started running up from the bank in +the curved direction, habitual with all kangaroos, passed within shot.) + +The height we visited was of coarse sandstone formation, and attained an +elevation of 150 feet. As I was left to examine some parts of the river +which had been passed in the night, I had a further opportunity of +determining the value, and estimating the fertility of Whirlwind Plains. +My examination only confirmed my previous conjectures in favour of the +capabilities of the soil. From what I had seen at Port Essington, as +ground considered favourable for the growth of cotton, there can be no +doubt that on these plains it would thrive much better; but the soil on +the Victoria is of too fertile a character to bear any comparison with +that of Cobourg Peninsula. + +SILK COTTON-TREE. + +At Reach Hopeless, and at other points of the important stream I am +describing we observed numerous specimens of a kind of silk cotton-tree +(Bombax): the diameter was sometimes as great as twenty inches; and it +not unfrequently rose to the height of twenty or thirty feet, though +generally shorter. The pods were of an oval shape, and about two inches +and a half in length; each pod was in three divisions and full of a silky +cotton, with the seeds not imbedded but held at the extremity of the +fibres. I brought home a specimen and presented it to Sir William Hooker, +of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, with whom I have since had some +correspondence on the subject. He informs me that the plant is one +hitherto undescribed; but that Sir Joseph Banks met with it in Captain +Cook's voyage. + +November 17. + +We continued our descent of the river: stopping from time to time to +complete the survey. In the end of Long Reach we noticed that the stream +ran up two hours after high-water. After securing some observations for +latitude under Station Peak in the early part of the night, we proceeded +further down the river, delighted to escape from that mosquito-haunted +neighbourhood. + +EFFECTS OF DRINKING SALT-WATER. + +November 18. + +At day-break I was very much distressed and astonished to see one of the +men on a sudden start up under the influence of delirium, and attempt to +throw himself into the water, from which the combined strength of three +or four of the crew with difficulty restrained him. He was one of the +best men I had with me; his sudden and serious illness had doubtless been +produced by the draughts of saltwater which he had swallowed during the +night. He had been accustomed to indulge in very liberal potations while +we were up the river, and now, when from necessity the allowance was +restricted to a gallon per day, he had most foolishly attempted in the +dark to quench his thirst with the salt waters of the advancing tide. In +the afternoon we rejoined the ship, and he was placed under the care of +Mr. Bynoe; but it was some time before he fully recovered from the +effects of his rash experiment. The day was very oppressive, the +thermometer being 105 degrees in the shade, and there was no wind. We +were cordially greeted by our shipmates upon our return, and both Mr. +Forsyth and myself enjoyed the luxury of a night's rest in our hammocks; +a most agreeable change after the hot stones upon which we had generally +been compelled to court repose during our exploration. We had both +suffered much inconvenience from the attacks of flies upon our visual +organs, necessarily exposed and undefended as they had been when we were +occupied during the observations and in viewing the strange scenes of the +last eighteen days. The irritation upon the lids produced a copious +discharge, which fairly sealed them up at night; so that, at last, in +order to have them ready for immediate use, I found it requisite to sleep +with a wet linen cloth covering each eye. + +We heard with great satisfaction that Lieutenant Emery's search for water +had been completely successful, and that two large wells had been dug in +the valley, abreast of which the ship was anchored. During our absence +the barometer had ranged between 30.08 and 29.97; the minimum height +being always at noon. There had been several sharp squalls from the +eastward, beginning at south-east and ending at north-east, with a few +showers of rain. North-west, or seabreezes, were regular near the changes +of the moon, and of greater duration. No meteors were observed since the +16th, but between the 7th and 11th they were very numerous. + +GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS. + +November 20. + +I went ashore to collect a few geological specimens: the sandstone which +prevailed everywhere was in a decomposed state, but there was a very +decided dip in the strata to the south-east, of about 30 degrees. On the +east side of Water Valley, I found the same kind of slate, noticed before +at Curiosity Peak: but what most interested me was a bituminous substance +found near the bottom of the wells recently dug, and 23 feet from the +surface of the ground. It was apparently of a clayey nature when first +brought up, but became hard and dark upon exposure to the air, and +ignited quickly when put into the flame of a candle. The sides of Water +Valley were very precipitous, and nearly 300 feet high: a growth of palms +marked the spot, and served to indicate our wells. We here saw also the +same fruit I had noticed on Curiosity Peak. + +BIRD'S PLAYHOUSE. + +I found matter for conjecture in noticing a number of twigs with their +ends stuck into the ground, which was strewed over with shells, and their +tops brought together so as to form a small bower; this was 2 1/2 feet +long, 1 1/2 foot wide at either end. It was not until my next visit to +Port Essington that I thought this anything but some Australian mother's +toy to amuse her child: there I was asked, one day, to go and see the +bird's playhouse, when I immediately recognised the same kind of +construction I had seen at the Victoria River: the bird* was amusing +itself by flying backwards and forwards, taking a shell alternately from +each side, and carrying it through the archway in its mouth. + +(*Footnote. Figured in Mr. Gould's work as Chlamydera nuchalis.) + +November 22. + +The moon being full to-day we noticed that the tides were very strong: +particularly the flood-stream, which came in bores, and sometimes swept +by the ship at the rate of 6 1/2 knots, while the ebb did not exceed 4 +1/2: the greatest rise also to-day was 24 feet. + +SINGULAR CHANGE OF WINDS. + +November 25. + +My journal of this day begins with remarking a very extraordinary change +that took place in the winds. Instead of the usual fresh North-West +breeze after ten A.M., there was a moderate one from East-South-East. +This drew round gradually by east to north. At sunset the weather was +very gloomy; but the barometer indicated nothing, ranging as usual. In +the early part of the night the wind was light from North-North-West, +changing suddenly at midnight to a fresh breeze from South-East with +rain. When the morning broke, it had veered to East-South-East with +squalls from East-North-East and heavy rain. Dense masses of clouds +covered the sky, enveloping everything in gloom; which, though so far +agreeable as to reduce the temperature to 75 degrees, had a most singular +effect after the constant bright sunny days we had experienced. There was +still no unusual change in the barometer, the maximum being 30.06, and +the minimum 29.98 at two P.M. The night was squally without rain. + +HURRICANE AT PORT ESSINGTON. + +November 27. + +The day broke with an appearance of fine weather; patches of blue sky +peeped between the heavy masses of clouds, and expanding as the day +advanced, left us at sunset with a cloudless vault of blue overhead. The +barometer was lower throughout the whole of this day than it had been at +all, being at two P.M. 29.91. When this strange weather first began I was +disposed to consider it to be of the same character as that which I had +before observed to occur within a few days of the change of the moon. But +its duration and occasional violence led me to think otherwise, and I +afterwards found my conclusions to be correct; as at this very time a +hurricane visited Port Essington, distant 270 miles, in a North 30 +degrees East direction.* + +(*Footnote. The following account of the effects of this hurricane at +Port Essington is from the pen of Captain Stanley, and has been published +in the Nautical Magazine for September 1841. + +Monday 25th. + +A strong breeze set in from the south-east with drizzling rain, but as +the barometer remained at 29.90, its usual point, and similar weather had +been experienced at the change of the monsoon in 1838, nothing was +apprehended, more particularly as the wind moderated (as had been +expected) at sunset. Between seven and eight o'clock the wind drew round +to the southward, and the barometer began to fall rapidly: at ten it blew +furiously from the same quarter, and the barometer was as low as 29.10; +many of the trees were blown down at this time. At midnight the wind drew +round to the eastward, and blew a perfect hurricane, before which nearly +everything gave way; the trees came down in every part of the settlement; +the marines' houses were all blown down; the church, only finished a +week, shared the same fate: the barometer fell to 28.52. + +About two A.M. the wind shifted suddenly to the northward, from which +point for about half-an-hour, its fury was tremendous; the +government-house, built on stone piers, was blown away from them to a +distance of nine feet; the sea rose ten feet and a half, by measurement +afterwards, above the usual high-water mark. H.M.S. Pelorus, having +parted her cables, was driven on shore, and thrown over on her beam ends, +on the north-east point of the settlement, where heeling over 82 degrees, +her starboard side was buried nine feet in the mud, leaving the keel +three feet clear of the ground.** + +At daylight the barometer rose slowly to 29.90, the gale moderated, and +the sea went down so fast, that between seven and eight we were able to +send a boat to the assistance of the Pelorus: after eight the breeze +continued to blow strong from the northward for two days, with heavy +rain. + +The occurrence of such a hurricane must be very rare, as the natives were +as much astonished as ourselves, and came to beg for shelter: they have +no name for it, and no tradition of anything of the sort having happened +before: the state in which the very extensive fences at Raffles Bay were +in shortly before, must prove that the trees had never been blown down in +the way they were on the 25th of November, since that settlement was +abandoned in 1829. + +The extent of the hurricane must have been very limited: at Coepang a +strong gale from the south-west was experienced, and also between Java +and Timor on the 26th, but the wind did not change. Even 18 miles north, +at Vashon Head, the change of wind must have been greater though equal in +force. There the first trees fell with the wind from West-South-West; a +few fell when the wind was east, and most when the wind was north-west. +The Malays have an idea that every fifth year the monsoon is stronger +than usual, but can give no reason for thinking so. According to them +this monsoon ought to have been a strong one. + +(**Footnote. The Pelorus was dug out of the mud, and once more got afloat +towards the middle of February following. This immense undertaking was +accomplished by the indefatigable exertion and mechanical skill of her +commander, Captain Kuper, C.B., assisted by Captain Stanley. J.L.S.)) + +COURSE OF THE STORM. + +The bad weather in the Victoria then would appear to have been caused by +the proximity of the southern edge of this storm as it passed to the +westward. The fact of the time when the weather was the worst, having +been the same at Port Essington, and in the Victoria; and of the French +discovery ships meeting it in Torres Strait first, shows the westerly +course of the storm. Its northern edge did not reach Coepang, but a +strong gale from the south-west on the 26th showed that it was passing. +Most probably it took a more southerly course before reaching Timor.* + +(*Footnote. We were informed at Timor that hurricanes were never felt +there, but occur once in four or five years to the southward of it. It +may be added that a vessel lost her top-masts in the Port Essington +hurricane, near Sandalwood Island, and that to the southward of Java +hurricanes occur frequently.) + +I passed the night on shore, making observations for latitude, and in the +hope also of being able to obtain another specimen of the new small +kangaroo, that being the time when it is generally to be found on the +move. But I did not succeed in this object; and failed also in my +expectation of knocking over one of a large kind seen in the interior. I +left the observation spot for this purpose with the first grey of the +morn, taking an East-North-East direction for about four miles. + +DREARY COUNTRY. + +The country was most dreary; vast ranges strewn over with huge blocks of +sandstone, rose in desolate grandeur around; chasms, ravines, and thirsty +stony valleys yawned on every side; all was broken, rugged, and arid, as +if the curse of sterility had fallen on the land; in short, the contrast +was complete between this desert place and the country we had so lately +traversed up the river. I was able, accordingly, to procure nothing in +the shape of a fresh meal, save a few black cockatoos and some of the +pigeons of a dark brown colour, with a white patch on the extremity of +the wing, which I have alluded to in the earlier part of the work +relating to King's Sound, as always inhabiting rocky districts and making +a whirring sound, like a partridge, on the wing. + +LOSE TWO ANCHORS. + +November 29. + +This afternoon and the whole of the next day, when the tide suited, we +were endeavouring to weigh the ship's anchors; but they were together +with the cables so imbedded in the bottom, which must have been a +quicksand, that this proved impossible. Had the ship been fitted with +Captain Charles Phillips', R.N., capstan, there would have been a better +chance of succeeding. As it was, after heaving down the ship nineteen +inches by the head, and splitting the hawse pipes, we were ultimately +obliged to leave both behind, and thirty fathoms of cable with one and +fifteen with the other. This circumstance suggested the appropriate name +of Holdfast Reach for this locality; and perhaps in some future +generations, when this part of the world has undergone the changes that +seems destined for it, the archaeologist of Victoria River may in vain +puzzle his wits with speculations concerning the Beagle's anchors. + +Whilst at this anchorage, just after dark, flocks of whistling ducks were +constantly heard passing over our heads in a South-West by West +direction, or towards the head of Cambridge Gulf, which led to the +supposition that there was a river in that neighbourhood. We placed the +south point of Water Valley in latitude 15 degrees 13 3/4 minutes South +and longitude 2 degrees 22 minutes West of Port Essington, variation one +degree easterly. Our tidal observation made the time of high-water, at +the full and change of the moon, 9 o'clock, when the mean rise at springs +was sixteen feet, and at neaps ten. The duration of the flood-stream was +seven hours, being two greater than the ebb. The former ran 50 minutes +after high-water, and the latter 30 minutes after low-water. Before +leaving Holdfast Reach, Lieutenant Emery observed one or two natives, +opposite Water Valley, being the only ones that had been seen from the +ship. He endeavoured to obtain an interview, by going up alone towards +them, but they drew off when he got near. + +DROP DOWN THE RIVER. + +December 1. + +We slipped from our last anchor at daylight, and proceeded down the +river. After pirouetting through Whirlpool Reach, we got as far down as +the flats fronting River Peak, above which we anchored near noon. After +having been shut up among rocky ranges for a month, the sight of the sea +horizon was a novelty, and the cool, refreshing breeze, as it came +sweeping over the unbroken expanse of waters, created in us very pleasing +sensations. + +Next morning we beat down the main channel, which was called the Queen's, +the deep water varying from five to nine fathoms being on the west side. +Some shoal patches of a quarter and two fathoms, lying midway between +Observation Island, and the end of the long sand extending off its +northern side, prevented our proceeding further. The boats completed the +survey of the western side of the channel in the afternoon: the largest +creek examined by Mr. Forsyth received his name. + +REACH THE SEA. + +December 3. + +Dropping down the channel with a light air from the westward, and a boat +in advance sounding, no impediment occurred after passing the sands +extending off Observation Island, as a fine deep channel of six and eight +fathoms followed the western side of Quoin Island, and the long sand +stretching off its north end. When we had cleared this the anchor was +dropped in eight fathoms, and the boats were again employed in sounding. + +That the Beagle was once more anchored outside all the banks--to have +touched on any of which, with the great strength of the tides that +hurried us along would have been fatal--was a great relief to all of us, +especially to me, in whom Captain Wickham had placed so much confidence +as to trust the ship to my guidance, whilst exposed to the dangers I have +mentioned. + +December 4. + +Moved the ship within three miles and a half of the south extreme point +of the river, the highest part bearing South 40 degrees West. A party of +us visited it, and, from a rather extraordinary sight we there beheld, it +was called Turtle Point. + +DEAD TURTLES ON THE SHORE. + +Behind some very low scattered sandhills that form it, fronting a +mangrove flat, we beheld great numbers of dead turtles, that seemed to +have repaired thither of their own accord to die. They were lying on +their bellies, with their shells for the most part uninjured, though some +were turned over, and showed other signs of visits from the natives. A +few skeletons of a large bustard* were also seen there, so that the place +had quite the appearance of a cemetery, and reminded me of a spot on the +River Gallegos in Patagonia, where the guanacos (a kind of llama) +assemble to pay the debt of nature, and leave their bones to whiten the +surface of the plain. Never before, on any occasion, had we seen dead +turtles in any similar position; how they could have got there was a +mystery, unless we suppose them to have been thrown up by some earthquake +wave. They had evidently not been transported thither by the hand of man, +though, as I have observed, some of the natives who thinly inhabit this +district, finding them there, ready to their hand, had availed themselves +of the gifts of fortune. I could not help, as I gazed on this remarkable +scene, calling to mind the marvellous elephant cemetery described by +Sinbad the Sailor. It is possible that the observation of some similar +phenomenon may have suggested to the imagination of the authors of the +Thousand and One Nights their romantic fiction. At any rate an air of +mystery will always hang round Turtle Point until the facts I have +mentioned shall have been explained. + +(*Footnote. A specimen of one of them was brought away and deposited in +the Museum at Sydney.) + +The nature of this part of the country I have before described on my +visit to Indian Hill. A ridge of breakers ran off north a couple of miles +from our station; a low point, bearing West 16 degrees South about eight +or nine miles, with an opening trending in south intervening, with some +slightly elevated land bearing South 34 degrees West about four or five +leagues, terminated our view to the westward. We found the tide much +weaker on this side of the entrance, not exceeding three miles an hour; +the stream ran up three-quarters of an hour after high-water. The times +of high-water for the last three days had been most unaccountably the +same. + +December 5. + +Crossed over to Point Pearce at daylight, but the wind being light all +the morning did not reach an anchorage till the afternoon; the extreme of +the point bearing North 41 degrees West three-quarters of a mile. A line +of ripplings extended a couple of miles off to the south-west of it, in +which we found there was only four fathoms. In standing across the +entrance we passed first a bank of three fathoms, with six and seven on +each side; Turtle Point bearing South 45 degrees West 11 miles; then two +more, one of seven and eight fathoms, with twelve and seventeen on each +side, the other of only two fathoms with twelve on the south, and twenty +on the north side. + +MERMAID BANK. + +We subsequently found the latter to be a continuation of the bank on +which Captain King had five fathoms, Point Pearce bearing North 22 +degrees East 5 miles; and in order to record his visit we named it, after +his vessel, Mermaid Bank. + +VISIT THE SHORE FOR OBSERVATIONS. + +December 7. + +I left the ship in the morning to make some observations at Point Pearce +for the errors of the chronometers. I was accompanied to the shore by Mr. +Bynoe, who was going on a shooting excursion. It being high-water, I was +obliged to select a spot near the cliffs forming the point, for carrying +out my intention. That selected was about 60 yards from the wood-crowned +cliff which rose behind; thinking such an intervening distance would +secure me from the spear of the treacherous native. This caution rather +resulted from what had before occurred at Escape Cliffs, where Messrs. +Fitzmaurice and Keys so narrowly escaped, than from any idea that natives +might be lurking about. Indeed, Mr. Bynoe had been shooting all over the +ground yesterday, and had neither seen nor heard anything to indicate +their existence in this neighbourhood; though doubtless, from what +followed, they had been very busily watching him all the time, and were +probably only deterred from making an attack, by the alarm with which his +destructive gun, dealing death to the birds, must have filled them. +Requiring equal altitudes, I was compelled to revisit the spot in the +afternoon for the corresponding observations. The boat in which Mr. Bynoe +returned to the ship, was to carry me on shore. We met at the gangway, +and in answer to my inquiry, he informed me that he had seen no traces of +the natives. He had shot a new and very beautiful bird of the finch +tribe, in which the brilliant colours of verdigris green, lilac purple, +and bright yellow, were admirably blended.* The time was short; half an +hour would have sufficed for the observations, and we should have left +the coast. As it was now low-water, and I had to traverse a coral reef +half a mile in width, I resolved to lighten myself of my gun, which I had +taken with me in the morning, that I might with greater safety carry the +chronometer. On landing I directed Mr. Tarrant and one of the boat's crew +to follow with the rest of the instruments. The walking was very bad, the +reef being strewed with coral fragments, and interspersed with large +pools. With my mind fully occupied by all we had seen of late, I hurried +on without waiting, and reached the observation spot, just glancing +towards the cliff, which presented nothing to the view except the silvery +stems of the never-failing gumtrees. + +(*Footnote. Figured by Mr. Gould from this specimen as Amadina gouldiae.) + +THE AUTHOR SPEARED. + +I had just turned my head round to look after my followers when I was +suddenly staggered by a violent and piercing blow about the left +shoulder:* and ere the dart had ceased to quiver in its destined mark, a +loud long yell, such as the savage only can produce, told me by whom I +had been speared. + +(*Footnote. See the view annexed. ) + +PURSUED BY THE NATIVES. + +One glance sufficed to show me the cliffs, so lately the abode of silence +and solitude, swarming with the dusky forms of the natives, now indulging +in all the exuberant action with which the Australian testifies his +delight. One tall bushy-headed fellow led the group, and was evidently my +successful assailant. I drew out the spear, which had entered the cavity +of the chest, and retreated, with all the swiftness I could command, in +the hope of reaching those who were coming up from the boat, and were +then about halfway. I fully expected another spear while my back was +turned; but fortunately the savages seemed only to think of getting down +to the beach to complete their work. Onward I hurried, carrying the +spear, which I had drawn from the wound, and determined if, as I +expected, overtaken, to sell my life dearly. Each step, less steady than +the former one, reminded me that I was fast losing blood: but I hurried +on, still retaining the chronometer, and grasping my only weapon of +defence. The savage cry behind soon told me that my pursuers had found +their way to the beach: while at every respiration, the air escaping +through the orifice of the wound, warned me that the strength by which I +was still enabled to struggle through the deep pools and various other +impediments in my path, must fail me soon. I had fallen twice: each +disaster being announced by a shout of vindictive triumph, from the +bloodhounds behind. To add to my distress, I now saw, with utter dismay, +that Mr. Tarrant, and the man with the instruments, unconscious of the +fact that I had been speared, and therefore believing that I could make +good my escape, were moving off towards the boat. I gave up all hope, and +with that rapid glance at the past, which in such an hour crowds the +whole history of life upon the mind, and one brief mental act of +supplication or rather submission to Him in whose hands are the issues of +life and death, I prepared for the last dread struggle. + +NARROW ESCAPE FROM DEATH. + +At that moment the attention of the retreating party was aroused by a +boat approaching hastily from the ship; the first long, loud, wild shriek +of the natives having most providentially apprised those on board of our +danger. They turned and perceived that I was completely exhausted. I +spent the last struggling energy I possessed to join them. Supported on +each side I had just strength to direct them to turn towards our savage +enemies: who were hurrying on in a long file, shouting and waving their +clubs, and were now only about thirty yards off. Our turning, momentarily +checked their advance, whilst their force increased. During these very +few and awfully anxious moments, a party, headed by Lieutenant Emery, +hastened over the reef to our support. Another moment, and ours would +have been the fate of so many other explorers; the hand of the savage +almost grasped our throats--we should have fallen a sacrifice in the +cause of discovery, and our bones left to moulder on this distant shore, +would have been trodden heedlessly underfoot by the wandering native. + +At the sight of Lieutenant Emery's party, the natives flew with the +utmost rapidity, covering their flight, either from chance or skill, by +my party; in a moment the air, so lately echoing with their ferocious +yells, was silent, and the scene of their intended massacre, as lonely +and deserted as before! + +I was soon got down to the boat, lifted over the ship's side, and +stretched on the poop cabin table, under the care of Mr. Bynoe, who on +probing the wound gave me a cheering hope of its not proving fatal. The +anxiety with which I watched his countenance, and listened to the words +of life or death, the reader may imagine, but I cannot attempt to +describe. The natives never throw a spear when the eye of the person they +aim at is turned towards them, supposing that everyone, like themselves, +can avoid it. This was most fortunate, as, my side being towards them, +the spear had to pass through the thick muscles of the breast before +reaching my lungs. Another circumstance in my favour was that I had been +very much reduced by my late exertions. + +NIGHT OF SUFFERING. + +The sufferings of that night I will not fatigue my readers by describing; +but I can never forget the anxiety with which Mr. Bynoe watched over me +during the whole of it. Neither can I forget my feelings of gratitude to +the Almighty when my sunken eyes the next morning once more caught the +first rays of the sun. It seemed as though I could discover in these an +assurance that my hour was not yet come, and that it would be my lot for +some time longer to gaze with grateful pleasure on their splendour. + +Several excursions were made during our stay in search of the natives, +but without success. An encampment was found in the neighbourhood, near a +small freshwater swamp, and by the things that were left behind it was +evident that a hasty retreat had been made. It would have been as well if +we could have punished these people in some way for their unprovoked +attack; but to have followed them far into the bush would have been quite +useless. A comparison of their conduct with that of the natives of Shoal +Bay, confirms what I have before stated of the extraordinary contrast +presented by the dispositions of the aboriginal inhabitants of Australia; +for in both instances we were the first Europeans they had ever +encountered. + +TREACHERY BAY. + +The observations, which nearly cost me my life in endeavouring to obtain, +placed Point Pearce in latitude 14 degrees 25 minutes 50 seconds, South +longitude 2 degrees 49 minutes West of Port Essington. The time of +high-water, at the full and change, was seven o'clock, when the tides +rose from twenty to twenty-six feet. The cliffs forming it are of a +reddish hue, from the quantity of iron the rocks in the neighbourhood +contain. To commemorate the accident which befell me, the bay within +Point Pearce was called Treachery Bay, and a high hill over it Providence +Hill. + +In the nights of the 10th and 11th we had sharp squalls from the +eastward, being early in the season for their repeated appearance. There +was the usual gathering of clouds, the hard edges of which were lit up by +the constant flashing of lightning. It is singular that all these +squalls, wherever we have met them, should happen within five hours of +the same time, between nine at night and two in the morning. + +COURSE OF THE VICTORIA. + +I have thus detailed the circumstances attending the discovery and +partial exploration of the Victoria, that new and important addition to +our geographical knowledge of one of the least known and most interesting +portions of the globe. Its peculiar characteristics--for, like all +Australian rivers, it has distinctive habits and scenery of its own--the +nature of the country through which it flows--its present condition, its +future destiny, are all subjects, to which, though I may have cursorily +alluded before, I am under promise to the reader of returning. Of that +promise, therefore, I now tender this in fulfilment. + +The Victoria falls into the Indian Ocean in latitude 14 degrees 40 +minutes South and longitude 129 degrees 21 minutes East, being at its +confluence with the sea, between Turtle and Pearce Points, twenty-six +miles wide. The land upon either side as you enter the river is bold and +well defined, but from the margin of the western shore, an extensive mud +and mangrove flat, not entirely above the level of high-water, and +reaching to the base of a range of hills, about seventeen miles from the +water's edge, seems to indicate that at one time the waters of the +Victoria washed the high land on either side. + +For the first thirty miles of the upward course, the character of the +river undergoes but little change. The left side continues bold, with the +exception of a few extensive flats, sometimes overflowed, and a +remarkable rocky elevation, about twenty-five miles up, to which we gave +the name of The Fort, as suggested by its bastion-like appearance, though +now called Table Hill in the chart. To the right the shore remains low, +studded with mangroves, and still, from appearance, subject to not +unfrequent inundations: towards the mouth, indeed, it is partially +flooded by each returning tide. Thirty-five miles from its mouth its +whole appearance undergoes the most striking alteration. We now enter the +narrow defile of a precipitous rocky range of compact sandstone, rising +from 4 to 500 feet in height, and coming down to the river, in some +places nearly two miles wide, in others not less than twenty fathoms +deep, and hurrying through, as if to force a passage, with a velocity +sometimes not less than six miles an hour. + +NATURE OF THE COUNTRY. + +It continues a rapid stream during its passage through this defile, an +extent of some thirty miles, and beyond it is found slowly winding its +way towards the sea across a rich alluvial plain, fifteen miles in width. +Above this plain is found a second range of similar character and +formation to that before mentioned; the stream, however, having of course +somewhat less both of width and depth, and flowing with a decreased +rapidity. The elevation of the hills on either side was at first entering +considerably less than in the former range; they had also lost much of +their steep and precipitous appearance; but as we gradually proceeded up, +the former distinctive characteristics returned: the hills rose higher +and more boldly, almost immediately from the water's edge, and continued +each mile to present a loftier and more rugged front; never however +attaining the extreme altitude of the former or Sea Range. Above Reach +Hopeless the width of the alluvial land, lying between the immediate +margin of the river and the hills which bound its valley, considerably +increased; and just in proportion as the high bold land approached the +channel on one shore, it receded from it on the opposite, and left an +extensive alluvial flat between that bank and the retreating hills; the +whole valley, too, widened out, so that, supposing the stream at one time +to have filled it from the bases of the high land on either side, it must +have had a breadth above Reach Hopeless of from three to five miles, and +this still increased when I last traced its presumed course beyond Mount +Regret. + +The extreme altitude of Sea Range is from 7 to 800 feet, and of the hills +last seen, near Mount Regret, from 4 to 500. The distinctive formation +common to both consists in their level summits, within twenty feet of +which a precipitous wall of rock, of a reddish hue, runs along the +hillside. + +VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. + +The upper portion of the valley through which the river passes varies in +its nature from treeless, stony plains to rich alluvial flats, lightly +timbered with a white-stemmed gum. The banks are steep and high, thickly +clothed with the acacia, drooping eucalyptus, and tall reeds. The various +lake-like reaches had, of course, no perceptible stream, but their banks, +no less than the dry patches in the bed of the river, satisfied us that +the Victoria had recently been, and in all probability would soon again +become, a large and rapid river. + +GOUTY-STEM TREE. + +Among the most curious vegetable productions along its banks are the silk +cotton-tree and the gouty-stem tree. The latter has been already +mentioned by Captains King and Grey, and here attains a great size: it +bears a very fragrant white flower, not unlike the jasmine; the fruit is +used by the natives, and found to be a very nutritious article of food, +something similar to a coconut. Not having previously noticed it in this +neighbourhood I conclude this to be the northern limit of its growth. The +reader will remember my having before alluded to seeing it near the mouth +of Fitzroy River, where I have also mentioned the extent of coast on +which we found it, and given the limits of its indigenous empire, +extending not quite over two degrees of latitude. The peculiar character +of the tree I leave the reader to learn from the woodcuts annexed. + +ITS FRUIT. + +That containing the fruit* is from a specimen obtained near the Fitzroy, +as it was in flower when I saw it in the month of November on the banks +of the Victoria. + +(*Footnote. For description of this fruit, see Volume 1.) + +I may here remind the reader, that among the results of our exploration +of the Victoria was the addition of a new species of kangaroo, a +freshwater tortoise, some fish, and several beautiful birds to the +domains of natural history. + + +CHAPTER 2.4. VICTORIA RIVER TO SWAN RIVER. + +Leave Point Pearce. +Error in position of Cape Rulhieres. +Obtain soundings on supposed Sahul Shoal. +Discover a shoal patch on it. +Ascertain extent of bank of soundings off the Australian shore. +Strange winds in Monsoon. +See Scott's Reef. +Discover error in its position. +Make Depuch Island. +Prevalence of westerly winds near it. +Sperm whales. +Tedious passage. +Death and burial of the ship's cook. +Anecdotes of his life. +Good landfall. +Arrival at Swan River. +Find Colony improved. +Hospitality of Colonists. +Lieutenant Roe's account of his rescuing Captain Grey's party. +Burial of Mr. Smith. +Hurricane at Shark's Bay. +Observations on dry appearance of Upper Swan. +Unsuccessful cruise of Champion. +Visit Rottnest. +Fix on a hill for the site of a Lighthouse. +Aboriginal convicts. +Protectors of natives. +American whalers. +Miago. +Trees of Western Australia. +On the safety of Gage Roads. + +SAIL FOR SWAN RIVER. + +December 12. + +By this day Mr. Bynoe thought I was sufficiently recovered to be able to +bear the motion of the ship at sea, and we accordingly sailed in the +morning for Swan River. + +Standing out from Point Pearce we had a better view, than on our first +approach, of the coast to the north of it; trending in a North 11 degrees +East direction. It had a sandy appearance and was fronted with a rocky +ledge at low-water, with one or two remarkable bare sand patches, four or +five miles from the Point. We had a shoal cast of nine fathoms (eight at +low-water) ten miles west from Point Pearce. In the afternoon we stood to +the westward, in very even soundings of 15 fathoms. + +On the 13th we saw the white cliffs of Cape Rulhieres, which, like Point +Pearce, we found to be four miles and a half west of its assigned +position. On the 14th and 15th we were beating to the westward with a +light and variable wind. + +SAHUL SHOAL. + +Our progress was slow, the monsoon being light; we therefore stood to the +northward, to find a more steady breeze, and in order, whilst making our +westing, to get some soundings over a large dotted space in the chart, +bearing the name of the Great Sahul Shoal. We desired also to ascertain +the extent of the bank of soundings extending off this part of the +Australian continent, which here approaches to within 245 miles of the +south end of Timor. The soundings varied, according to the boards we made +over it, from 30 to 60 fathoms; the bottom in the lesser depth being a +kind of coral, with bits of ironstone mixed with sand; whilst in the +greater depth, it was a green sandy mud. + +On the 17th at 8 P.M., whilst standing on the north-west, near the centre +of the eastern part of the supposed Sahul Shoal, the water shoaled +suddenly to 16 fathoms, from 68, a mile to the south-east. The helm was +put down, and when in stays there were only 14 1/2. The position of this +patch is in latitude 11 degrees 8 1/2 minutes South, longitude 126 +degrees 33 minutes East. Standing off South by East, in two miles the +water deepened to 72 fathoms. It was not until we had gone about ten +miles, that we again got into 60 fathoms, on the outer edge of the bank +of green sandy mud, fronting the Australian shore, and approaching within +a hundred miles of the south end of Timor. This bank appears to be +separated from the collection of coral patches, forming the Sahul Shoal +by a deep gap or gut, in which the depth generally was above 70 fathoms, +with a rocky bottom; though in part of it, in latitude 11 degrees 36 +minutes South and longitude 124 degrees 53 minutes East, there was no +bottom with 207 fathoms. + +Dr. Wilson, in his Voyage round the World, mentions that he crossed +several parts of the Sahul Shoal on his passage from Timor to Raffles +Bay, and never found less than 14 fathoms. + +On the 20th, at noon, we had no bottom with 131 fathoms, latitude 11 +degrees 34 minutes and longitude 124 degrees 52 minutes East. Our +progress now appeared to improve. Strange to say, though apparently in +the very heart of the monsoon, we were favoured with a light breeze from +the south-east; and, to show how currents are governed by the wind, I may +remark that the current experienced this day had changed its direction +from North-North-East to West. + +SCOTT'S REEF. + +On the 24th, several water-snakes were seen, and in the afternoon, with a +light north-west wind, we passed about six miles from the north end of +Scott's Reef,* which we placed a few miles to the westward of its +position in the chart, and of which we shall take another opportunity of +speaking. + +(*Footnote. One of the discoveries of Captain Peter Heywood, R.N.) + +Through God's mercy I was now so far recovered as to be able to crawl on +the poop to see this reef, but soon found that I had overrated my +strength: my back became affected; all power appeared to have deserted my +limbs; and I suffered dreadfully. Even to this day I feel the weakness in +my back, particularly in cold weather, or when I attempt to lift any +great weight suddenly. + +Westerly winds, that increased as we got to the southward, brought us in +sight of Depuch Island, a level lump of land, on the evening of New +Year's Day, and at 7 P.M. we tacked in 15 fathoms, about twelve miles +North-West 1/2 North from it. We spent a couple of days beating to +westward in the neighbourhood of the coast, from which the bank appeared +to extend sixty miles, with an equal number of fathoms on its edge. + +January 14, 1840. + +At noon, the same prevailing westerly winds brought us within fifty miles +of the north point of Sharks Bay, bearing South-East by South. On the +same evening we saw a herd of sperm whales. From that day we had a +southerly wind, which drawing round to the east as we got to the south, +forced us away from the land, so that from there our track to Swan River +described two sides of an acute-angled triangle; the 24th placing us +somewhat further than we were on the 14th, namely 700 miles west from our +destination; but at length we got a favourable wind to take us in. + +DEATH AND BURIAL OF THE COOK. + +January 21. + +I must refer back to this date to record that a gloom was cast over the +ship in the morning, in consequence of the rigid hand of death having +been laid on one of our men, the cook, by name Mitchell, worn out by old +age and bodily infirmities. He breathed his last at midnight, and at 10 +A.M. we committed his body to the deep. There is perhaps no place where +the burial service has a more impressive effect than at sea; and in the +present instance the grave demeanour of the whole crew attested that it +was so. The day too was gloomy, and in keeping with the solemn scene; +while a fresh breeze gave the ship a steady keel. Occasionally the +beautiful prayers were interrupted by the roar of the foaming waters as +the ship plunged onwards; then swelling on the breeze and mingling with +its wailings they were wafted, we would fain hope, to that peaceful home +to which we were sending our shipmate. A chilling plunge announced his +passage into the mighty deep, leaving no trace to mark the spot on the +wave, which swept on as before. + +The wandering and strange life of the deceased became the theme of +conversation during the day, and many interesting anecdotes were +recalled. On one occasion he had passed a few days in a vessel that had +been turned bottom up in a squall, but which, luckily, having a light and +shifting cargo, floated. His only companions were two negroes, who, with +the apathy of their race, spent the principal part of the time in sleep. +It was by boring a small hole through the vessel's bottom, and pushing up +a stick with a handkerchief attached, that they were enabled to attract +the attention of a passing ship, by whose people they were cut out. Old +Mitchell's propensity for fishing was very singular. Almost down to the +last, when in his hammock under the forecastle, he would have a line +passed to him whenever he heard fish playing about; and he would catch at +it as it was drawn through his fingers, until exhausted nature failing he +fell into a lethargic sleep. His situation latterly was peculiarly +pitiable. Worldly affairs and a future state were so painfully mingled, +that it was impossible to determine whether or not resignation +predominated. He evidently recoiled from the awful contemplation of +futurity, and sought refuge in the things of this life. Even whilst in +the pangs of death he could not conceive why he should be so cold, and +why his feet could not be kept up to a heat which nature, in obedience to +the dictates of infinite wisdom, was gradually resigning. + +We arrived at Swan River on the 31st, under circumstances which must +forcibly illustrate to a landsman the precision with which a ship may be +navigated. We had not seen land for fifty-two days, and were steering +through a dense fog, which confined the circle of our vision to within a +very short distance round the ship. Suddenly the vapour for a moment +dispersed, and showed us, not more than a mile ahead, the shipping in +Gage's Road. + +We found a vast improvement in the colony of Western Australia since our +last visit, and again experienced the greatest hospitality from the +colonists. To the assiduous attentions of my much valued friend, the +Surveyor-General, Lieutenant Roe, R.N., I in great measure ascribe my +rapid recovery. He gave me a painfully interesting account of an +excursion he had made in search of the party left behind by Captain Grey +during his exploring expedition in the neighbourhood of Sharks Bay, with +the sufferings and disastrous termination of which the public have +already been made acquainted in the vivid language of the last-mentioned +officer. + +LIEUTENANT ROE'S ACCOUNT OF THE RESCUE OF CAPTAIN GREY'S PARTY. + +It was on one of those soft beautiful evenings, so common in Australia, +that I received this narrative from my friend. We had strolled from his +cottage, at the western extremity of the town of Perth, and had just +emerged from the patch of woodland, concealing it from the view of the +Swan, which now lay at our feet. About a mile below, the broad shadow of +Mount Eliza, nearly extended across the river; and in the darkness thus +made, the snow-white sails of a tiny pleasure-boat flitted to and fro. +Beyond lay the beautiful lake-like reach of the river, Melville Water, +just ruffled by a breeze that came sweeping over its surface with all the +delicious coolness of the sea. The beauty of the scene did not divert me +from the events of my friend's story, serving rather to impress them the +more vividly on my mind. I remember well the animated and affecting +manner in which he delivered his narrative, and how his hard features +became lit up as he proceeded by an expression of honest pride, fully +justified by the fact that he had on that occasion been the means of +saving the lives of several of his fellow-creatures. When he found them +they were under a headland, which they had not sufficient strength left +to ascend, nor were they able to round the sea face of it. One of them, +finding all hope of proceeding further at an end, went down on his knees +and prayed to the almighty for assistance; and just as another had +bitterly remarked on the uselessness of proffering such a request, Mr. +Roe and his party, as if directed by the hand of Providence, appeared on +the ridge above them. It would be painful to describe minutely the +condition to which these poor fellows had been reduced; it will be +sufficient to state, that thirst had compelled them to resort to the most +offensive substitute for pure and wholesome water. + +DEATH OF MR. FREDERIC SMITH. + +One of their party, Mr. Frederick Smith, had been left behind; and so +bewildered were they in their despair, that they could give no definite +account of what had become of him. Mr. Roe immediately went in search, +and not many miles in the rear, found the poor fellow quite dead in a +bush, with his blanket half rolled round him. It appeared that he had +tried to scramble up a sandhill and had fallen back into the bush and +died--a sad and melancholy fate for one so young. He had laboured under +great disadvantages in walking, having cut his feet in very gallantly +swimming out to save one of the boats during a hurricane in Sharks Bay. +He was reduced to a perfect skeleton; having, in fact, been starved to +death. The sight drew forth a tributary tear of affection even from the +native who accompanied the party. Mr. Roe consigned poor young Smith's +remains to the earth, and setting up a piece of board to mark the spot, +smoothed down his lonely pillow, and moved with his companions in +mournful silence towards the south. + +It must have been an impressive scene; the sun, as if conscious that he +was shining for the last time on the remains of the ill-fated young +explorer, seemed to linger as if unwilling to descend into the western +horizon; and his full red orb painted a number of light airy clouds that +floated through the sky in the most brilliant colours, and shed a stream +of fire over the water as it rolled with a mournful dirge-like sound on +the strand close by. The howl of a wild dog now and then fell on their +ears as they performed their melancholy task, and alone broke the +stillness that reigned around, as they retreated slowly along the beach. + +Whilst on this humane excursion, Mr. Roe witnessed a wondrous gift +possessed by the natives. The one that accompanied him, perceiving +footmarks on the sand, where some of his countrymen had been, was enabled +by them to tell Mr. Roe, not only in what number they were, but THE NAME +OF EACH. This account was verified on their return to Perth, from whence +the natives had been sent during Mr. Roe's absence on the same errand. + +HURRICANE IN SHARKS' BAY. + +The hurricane I have mentioned, as encountered by Captain Grey in Sharks +Bay, latitude 26 degrees South, occurred on February 28th, which, +corresponding with the hurricane season of the Mauritius, leaves little +doubt that at the same time the shores of New Holland are occasionally +visited by more easterly ones, moving in nearly the same direction. The +other two instances of hurricanes occurring in the neighbourhood are +those of the Ceres, in 1839, in latitude 21 degrees South, above 300 +miles North-North-West from Sharks Bay, and of the Maguashas towards the +end of February,* 1843, in latitude 18 degrees South, about 400 miles +north of the same place. Ships, therefore, passing along the North-west +coast of New Holland at the season we have mentioned, should be prepared +for bad weather. The hurricane experienced by Captain Grey began at +South-east and ended at North-west. The lull in the centre of it showed +that the focus of the storm must have passed over that locality. Captain +Grey does not enter sufficiently into detail to enable us to trace the +veering of the wind. + +(*Footnote. In volume 1 will be found mention of the bad weather met with +by the Beagle in this month on the north-west coast. For further +information on this subject see Mr. Thom's interesting Inquiry into the +Nature and Course of Storms London 1845.) + +An observation I made on visiting this time the upper course of the Swan, +is worth recording. Many parts were perfectly dry, more so than any I had +seen on the Victoria, and yet I was informed that last year those very +parts were running with a good stream. It seems reasonable to infer, +therefore, that in certain seasons of the year the Victoria, though dry +in some places when I visited it, is a full and rapid river. + +During our stay the Colonial schooner, Champion, returned from an +unsuccessful search for the mouth of the Hutt River, discovered by +Captain Grey in the neighbourhood of Moresby's Flat-topped Range. Near +the south end of it, however, they found a bay affording good anchorage. + +ROTTNEST ISLAND. + +March 25. + +We moved the ship to Rottnest Island, to collect a little material for +the chart, and select a hill for the site of a lighthouse. The one we +chose lies towards the south-east end of the island, bearing North 76 +degrees West (true) twelve miles and a quarter from Fremantle gaol. The +Governor and Mr. Roe accompanied us to Rottnest, where we found that a +penal establishment of Aboriginal prisoners had been formed during our +absence. + +ABORIGINAL CONVICTS. + +No one would say that the Australian natives cannot work, if they could +just see the nice cottages of which this settlement is composed. The +Superintendent merely gives the convicts a little instruction at first, +and they follow his directions with astonishing precision. They take +great pride in showing visitors their own work. It is an interesting +though sorrowful sight to see these poor fellows--some of them deprived +of their liberty for life, perhaps for crimes into which they have been +driven by the treatment they receive from those who have deprived them +both of their land and of their liberty. Many, if not most of them, are +in some measure unconscious of guilt; and they are almost incapable of +appreciating the relation between what they have committed and the +punishment which has fallen on them. Their minds are plunged in the +darkest ignorance; or if they know anything beyond the means of +satisfying their immediate wants, it is that they have been deprived of +their rightful possessions by the men whose chains they wear. Surely this +reflection should now and then present itself to the white man who is +accustomed to treat them so harshly, and induce him to judge more +leniently of their acts, and instead of confining himself to coersive +measures for protection, make him resort to the means which are within +his reach of raising the despised and oppressed savage more nearly to a +level with himself in the scale of humanity. + +The native prisoners at Rottnest collect salt from the lagoons, cut wood, +and at present almost grow sufficient grain to keep them, so that in a +short time they will be a source of profit rather than of loss to the +crown. Some of them pine away and die; others appear happy. Generally, +however, when a fresh prisoner comes among them, great discontent +prevails; they enquire eagerly about their friends and families; and what +they hear in reply recalls vividly to their minds their wild roving life, +their corrobories, the delights of their homes; and of these, too, they +are sometimes compelled to think when a blue streak of smoke stealing +over the uplands, catches their restless eye, as it wanders instinctively +forth in that direction from their island prison. They will often gaze on +these mementos of their former free life, until their eyes grow dim with +tears and their breasts swell with those feelings which, however debased +they may appear, they share in common with us all. On these occasions +they naturally turn with loathing to their food. Those who suffer most +are the oldest; for they have ties to which the younger are strangers. + +The rapidity with which the young ones grow up and improve in appearance, +in consequence of their regular food and the care taken of them, is +astonishing. They are allowed to have a common kind of spear, though +without any throwing stick; and sometimes receive permission to go to the +west end of the island to endeavour to kill wallaby, which are there +rather numerous. + +We were happy to find that the attention of the public, and the +Government at home, had been drawn to the wrongs and sufferings of the +Aborigines of Australia; and that a desire of preserving them from +deterioration and ultimate destruction, had been evinced. Protectors had +been sent out for the purpose of attending especially to their interests, +so that it was evident that what was wanted was not goodwill towards +them. It was easy, however, to perceive that the system was a bad one, +and to foretell its failure. The most prominent feature in the plan +adopted, was the gathering together of the natives in the neighbourhood +of settlers without previously providing them with any means of +subsistence, so that they were in a manner compelled to have recourse to +depredations. + +AMERICAN WHALERS. + +To show to what extent whaling is carried on in these seas by foreigners, +I may mention that during our stay at Swan River, I at one time counted +as many as thirteen American whalers at anchor. It was to be regretted +that this department of industry had been abandoned by the colonists, who +however derived considerable advantage from the barter trade they carried +on with the whale ships. + +At Perth we found our old shipmate Miago, and were sorry to observe that +he was as great a savage as ever. He had got into considerable disgrace +among his fellows on account of his having performed one of these feats +of which he was so continually boasting on the North-west coast, namely, +carrying away a woman. He was hiding about, in momentary fear of being +speared by those whom he had injured. + +BOTANY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA. + +Among the information obtained this time at Swan River, was the following +table, relating to the vegetable kingdom of Western Australia. + +COLUMN 1: NAME COMMONLY GIVEN BY SETTLERS. +COLUMN 2: NATIVE NAME. +COLUMN 3: GENUS. +COLUMN 4: REMARKS. + +Mahogany : Jarrail* : Eucalyptus : Grows on white sandy land. + +Red gum : Kardan : Eucalyptus : On loamy land. + +Bluegum : Co-lort : Eucalyptus : On river banks and flooded lands, a sure +indication of vicinity of water. + +White gum : Wando : Eucalyptus : On stiff clay lands, sometimes tapped +for water contained in hollow trunk. + +York gum : To-art : Eucalyptus : Abundant in York--on good soil. + +Cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at Perth +: Gnardarup : Eucalyptus : Like several stems twisted together, abondant +in interior. + +Cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at Perth +: Wooruc : Eucalyptus : Brown glossy stem, smooth. + +Cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at Perth +: Gnelarue : Eucalyptus : Nankeen-coloured stem. + +Cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at Perth +: Mallat : Eucalyptus : Tall, straight, rough bark. + +Cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at Perth +: Morrail : Eucalyptus : Nearly similar. + +Cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at Perth +: Balwungar : Eucalyptus : Glaucus-leaved. + +Honeysuckle : Mang-ghoyte : Banksia : Large flowering cones containing +honey. + +Honeysuckle : Be-al-wra : Banksia : Large flowering cones containing +honey. + +Black wattle : Kile-yung : Acacia : Indication of good soil--produces +gum. + +Broom or Stinkwood : Cab-boor : - : Light sandy loam. + +Holly : Tool-gan : Hakea : Sandy soil--produces gum. + +Cabbage tree : Mote yar : Nuytsia floribella : Gum in abundance. + +Beef tree or the oak : - : Casuarina. + +Palm tree : Djir-jy or jirjy : Zamia media, gl. : Red fruit, nut, called +baio, ripe in March, is considered a delicacy by the natives. + +Raspberry jam : Maug-art : Acacia : Sweet scented--grows on good gruund. + +Raspberry jam : Minnung : Acacia : Gum very abundant. + +Blackboy : Balga : Zantha hast : Gum on the spear--resin on the trunk. + +York nut : Madda : - : Smells like sandalwood. + +Red apple : Quonni : - : Affects salt grounds. + +Swamp oak : Yeymbac : - : Name applies rather to the paper-like +bark--used to hold water, to cover houses, etc. + +Rough-topped blackboy : Barro : Zantha : Resin makes a powerful cement. + +Native yam : Werrang : - : Said to grow to a large size to the North. + +Native potato : Tubuc : Orchis. + +Native turnip : Canno. + +New Zealand flax : - : Phormium tenax : This grows pretty abnndantly, I +forget the native name. + +(*Footnote. The letter a is sounded broad and full as in Father.) + +SAFETY OF GAGE ROADS. + +The result of our soundings between Rottnest Island and the main, showed +that a bank extended out to the north-east, from the foul ground off the +Stragglers, sufficiently to check, in some measure, the vast body of +water rolling in from the north-west; and thereby adding to the safety of +Gage Roads, provided vessels anchor in the proper berth, which is in +seven or eight fathoms, on sandy mud, about a mile from the gaol, bearing +East by North. A quarter of a mile nearer the shore the bottom shoals +rapidly to four and three fathoms, on rocky ground slightly coated with +sand. It is therefore not likely a ship, well found, can drag her anchor +up a bank so steep as that inclination in the bottom forms. The wrecks +that have occurred in this anchorage may be traced to vessels not +selecting a proper berth. From their desire to be near the shore they get +into the shoal rocky ground; a breeze comes on when they are in no way +prepared, in the midst of discharging cargo; and in some cases, before a +second anchor can be let go, the ship is driven on shore. Thus, through +the want of judgment exhibited by a few individuals, has a whole +community suffered in the manner I have alluded to, when speaking of the +loss of the Orontes at Port Essington.* + +(*Footnote. See volume 1.) + + +CHAPTER 2.5. + +Sail from Swan River. +Search for the supposed Turtle-dove Shoal. +Approach to Houtman's Abrolhos. +Find an anchorage. +View of the Lagoon. +Guano. +Remnants of the wreck of the Batavia. +Pelsart Group. +Visit the Main. +Geelvink Channel. +Enter Champion Bay. +Appearance of the Country. +Striking resemblance of various portions of the coast of Australia. +Leave Champion Bay. +Coast to the northward. +Resume our examination of the Abrolhos. +Easter Group. +Good Friday Harbour. +Lizards on Rat Island. +Coral formation. +Snapper Bank. +Zeewyk Passage. +Discoveries on Gun Island. +The Mangrove Islets. +Singular Sunset. +Heavy gale. +Wallaby Islands. +Flag Hill. +Slaughter Point. +Observations of Mr. Bynoe on the Marsupiata. +General character of the reefs. +Tidal observations. +Visit North Island. +Leave Houtman's Abrolhos. +General observations. +Proceed to Depuch Island. +Drawings on the rocks. +Native youth. +New bird and kangaroo. +Effects of Mirage. +Examine coast to the Turtle Isles. +Geographe Shoals. +Number of turtles. +Bedout Island. +Scott's Reef. +Approach to Timor. +Pulo Douw. +Scene on entering Coepang Bay. +Surprise of Swan River native. +Visit to the Resident. +His stories. +Fort Concordia. +Second visit to the Resident. +The Timorees. +Arrive at Pritie. +Description of the country. +Muster of the shooting party. +Success of the excursion. +The Javanese Commandant. +Character of the Timorees. +Dutch settlement in New Guinea. +Leave Coepang. +Island of Rottee. +Tykal Inlet. +Inhabitants of Polo Douw. + +SAIL FROM SWAN RIVER. + +The improved state of the colony enabling us to get supplies, it was +resolved that we should return to the North-west coast, examining on the +way, Houtman's Abrolhos, a coral group that had very rarely been visited, +since the Dutch ships were lost on them, one 120 and the other 220 years +ago, and of which next to nothing was known. + +Not being able to persuade Miago to accompany us, he being too much +engaged with his new wife, we enlisted the services of a native youth who +generally went by the name of Tom, and left Gage Roads on the afternoon +of April 4th. + +Off the west end of Rottnest a sail was seen, which we afterwards found, +to our mortification, was H.M.S. Britomart, from Port Essington. We had +another fruitless search for the bank reported to the northward of +Rottnest. Steering North-North-West from the west end of it, the +soundings increased gradually to 35 fathoms, till passing Cape +Leschenault at the distance of twenty-two miles; but afterwards, no +bottom with 50 fathoms, till reaching the latitude of 31 degrees 7 +minutes South, where the coast projecting, brought us again within twenty +miles of it, and into a depth of 45 fathoms. We continued in soundings +till in latitude 30 degrees 36 minutes South, varying from 26 to 98 +fathoms, seventeen miles from the land with the former, and twenty-five +with the latter depth, which shows the extent and steepness of the bank +of soundings fronting the coast, between the parallels I have mentioned. + +THE ABROLHOS GROUP. + +April 6. + +There was unusual weather last night, overcast with a squally westerly +wind. Just laying our course North-North-West, at noon we were in +latitude 29 degrees 11 minutes South, on the position assigned to a reef +called the Turtle Dove. From the masthead I could see nothing indicating +a shoal. Captain King passed near this position, and also remarks not +seeing it. The Colonial schooner Champion, in beating to the southward, +has passed over and near its assigned position, and I think we may fairly +infer that there is no such reef as the Turtle Dove, and that probably it +originated from the south end of the Abrolhos reef, ten miles +North-North-West of it, being seen. We found 29 fathoms on this supposed +shoal, with 35, twelve miles South by East of it, and 127, twenty-eight +miles in the same direction. Between it and the south end of the Abrolhos +Group the water deepened to 35 fathoms. In approaching the nearest island +we passed close round the south-east end of a reef, running out about a +mile from the south point, and then trending away round in a North-west +by North direction, so as to form one side of a lagoon, whilst the island +I have mentioned--a long narrow strip trending North-east by North--forms +the other. The weather looking unsettled, the wind being from the +south-west, with slight rain squalls, we were glad to find shelter, so +near the commencement of our work, in a bight on the east side of the +island, three quarters of a mile from the south point, where we anchored +in 13 fathoms, scarcely a quarter of a mile from the shore. A coral +patch, of two and a half fathoms, with only two on its northern extreme, +confines this anchorage, which affords shelter from South-South-East +round by West to North-east by North. The tide rose here 32 inches. + +From the masthead I got a tolerably good view of the island, in some +places scarcely a cable wide, and a number of islets scattered to the +north-west. The lagoon at this place was not more than three miles +across, though marked twelve in the old charts; and I could trace the +long line of white breakers rolling in on the other side in solemn +grandeur, contrasting strongly in their foaming turbulence with the +placid waters within the protection of the reef and island. I could +clearly distinguish the limit of the danger in this direction, and that +there was nothing to break the swell beyond. The surface of the lagoon +was diversified by blue and grey patches, showing the alternations of +shoal and deep water; near the centre there appeared to be a channel, +which we afterwards found to be ten fathoms deep. + +In the head of the bight where we were anchored, there was a narrow low +sandy neck, placed by our observations in latitude 28 degrees 58 minutes +26 seconds South and longitude 1 degree 47 minutes 32 seconds west of +Swan River,* over which we hauled a boat to examine the opposite side of +the lagoon. + +(*Footnote. As we shall refer all longitudes during this cruise to +Scott's Jetty, Swan River, I may here state that the approximate +longitude of that place is considered to be 115 degrees 47 minutes East +of Greenwich.) + +A few remarkable clumps of mangroves pointed out the position of some +lagoons about a mile and a half from the south end of the island, which +is fronted by a line of low overhanging cliffs of recent, cream-coloured +limestone. Upon these rests a layer of a kind of soil, in some places +eighteen inches deep, in others four feet, in which the seabirds burrow, +and which, from what I have since seen of the much sought after guano, I +believe to contain some of the valuable substance. In some of the islands +forming Houtman's Abrolhos which we subsequently examined, I found +similar signs of the presence of this manure, which I think worthy of +being made the subject of enquiry. + +On the south part of the island I found a block of scoria measuring three +feet by two; which, though not appearing to possess the power of +floating, must have been brought by the current from the volcanic island +of St. Paul's. We saw a few hair-seals on the beach when we landed, and a +rich kind of rock oyster was found at low-water. + +PELSART GROUP. + +On the south west point of the island the beams of a large vessel were +discovered, and as the crew of the Zeewyk, lost in 1728, reported having +seen the wreck of a ship on this part, there is little doubt that the +remains were those of the Batavia, Commodore Pelsart, lost in 1627. We in +consequence named our temporary anchorage Batavia Road, and the whole +group Pelsart Group. It was the wreck of this Dutch ship that led to the +discovery of this part of the continent of Australia, Commodore Pelsart +himself having crossed over to it in a boat in search of water. + +VISIT TO THE MAIN. + +April 8. + +In the afternoon we got underweigh, with a fresh south wind. The low neck +over which the boat was hauled, and which appeared like a gap from the +offing, bearing west, led clear to the northward of the two fathom patch. +We steered across East by South 1/2 South for the main, losing sight of +the island from the Beagle's poop (height 15 feet) at the distance of +five miles and a half. Three miles further brought us in sight of the +land, forming a high level range, with a knob or lump on its south +extreme. Some five or six miles to the south-east were seen isolated +peaks, which we rightly supposed to be the Wizard Hills of Captain King, +whilst the lump above spoken of proved to be Mount Fairfax, the level +range being Moresby's Flat-topped Range. As we neared them the Menai +Hills began to show themselves. + +Our soundings, after leaving the island, deepened quickly to 30 and 35 +fathoms. Six miles from it the depth decreased to 23 fathoms. We stood +off and on during the night, the current setting North-North-West a mile +an hour. The space between the Abrolhos and the main bears the name of +Geelvink Channel, after Vlaming's ship, the first that ever passed +through (A.D. 1680). + +The chief object of the Beagle's visit to the main was to ascertain the +position of a good anchorage, before spoken of as reported at Swan River +to be under the south-west end of Moresby's Flat-topped Range. The +favourable account which Captain Grey had given of the country behind the +range made the knowledge of a good anchorage in its neighbourhood of vast +importance. Captain King missed this portion of the coast by crossing +over to the Abrolhos, which he places some five miles too much to the +westward, the lowness of the island deceiving him, as indeed it at first +did us. The reef off the south-west end, however, he has rightly fixed. + +April 9. + +At daylight the ship was in 24 fathoms, fifteen miles from Wizard Hills, +bearing South 70 degrees East. As we neared the shore, steering +North-East by North we saw a low point, running out west from the south +end of Moresby's Range, fronted by heavy breakers, particularly to the +north-west. Behind, the water was quite smooth, and promised a snug +anchorage. We passed round the reef in 13 1/2 fathoms, at the distance of +a half, and three-quarters of a mile; but we did not haul into the bay +until some suspicious spots had been sounded over by a boat. Finding not +less than four and a half fathoms, we stood in, Mount Fairfax bearing +east. The small table hill forming the north-west extreme of the Menai +Hills, bearing North 11 degrees East, leads clear to the westward of the +reef. Between this and the north point of the bay the water occasionally +lifts suspiciously. Inside the depth is regular, five and six fathoms, +fine white sand. + +CHAMPION BAY. + +To this anchorage was given the name of Champion Bay; whilst the +projection sheltering it from the south-west was called Point Moore, +after the Attorney-general at Swan River, who visited it in the Colonial +schooner. We anchored early in the forenoon in four fathoms, Mount +Fairfax bearing North 81 degrees East five miles and three-quarters; +Point Moore South 49 degrees West one mile, the end of the reef North 60 +degrees West also one mile, and a bare-topped brown sandhill, South 33 +degrees East, three-quarters of a mile. Immediately under the +last-mentioned the observations were made, placing that spot in latitude +28 degrees 47 minutes 8 seconds South and longitude 1 degree 9 minutes 20 +seconds West of Swan River. A most singular ridge of very white sandhills +lay a quarter of a mile to the eastward. + +ELEVATION OF THE HILLS. + +A plan of the bay was made, and the elevation of the neighbouring heights +taken; Mount Fairfax proving to be 585 feet, and Wizard Peak 700 feet. + +I regretted there was not time to visit Moresby's Flat-topped Range, as +we might have got a glimpse of the good land reported by Captain Grey in +the neighbourhood. The sides of the high lands look fertile over the +sandhills of the bay; but through a spy-glass I found that they had a +brown arid appearance and were destitute of timber. + +I was forcibly struck with the resemblance between Moresby's Range, Sea +Range on the Victoria, Cape Flattery on the north-east coast, and I may +add, from Flinders' description, the cliffs forming the coast range at +the head of the Australian Bight. The great similarity in the elevation, +all being between 500 and 700 feet, is still more remarkable. To bring +this great resemblance between opposite portions of the Australian +continent before the reader, I have inserted sketches of those parts +which were seen in the Beagle. + +The beach in the south corner of Champion Bay, having the appearance of +being seldom visited by a surf, it is possible that a small vessel may be +sheltered by the reef in north-west gales, which the anchorage is exposed +to, and which, therefore, can only be considered safe in the summer +season. Five miles to the southward of Point Moore there is another bay, +which appeared much exposed to the prevailing winds. The shore between is +rocky with outlying reefs. + +LEAVE CHAMPION BAY. + +April 10. + +We left Champion Bay at daylight, with a moderatE south wind and fine +weather, and passed over some uneven ground south-west of the north +point, soundings varying from five to seven fathoms, sand and rock, which +though at a quiet time, almost formed breakers. + +APPEARANCE OF THE COAST. + +As we ran along to the northward, the coast was lined with sandhills very +partially dotted with vegetation. Behind these was a margin of brown +arid-looking downs, receding to the foot of the uplands. Twenty miles of +the coastline from Champion Bay trended North 29 degrees West. + +At noon we were in latitude 28 degrees 26 minutes South; the Menai Hills, +a group lying just off the north end of Moresby's Flat-topped Range, +bearing South 73 degrees East ten miles. A valley or ravine, through +which probably a rivulet* runs in the wet season, bore North 83 degrees +East two miles, and a singular large patch of sand, 270 feet above the +sea, North 22 degrees East two miles and a half. North of this patch the +land changes its appearance; the bare sandhills cease, and a steep-sided +down, 300 feet high, faces the coastline. Our track was from two to three +miles from the shore, in 19 and 22 fathoms, fine white sand; a heavy surf +washing the beach. South-east of the Menai Hills the country appeared +much broken, with high table ranges of from 4 to 700 feet. + +(*Footnote. This (in latitude 28 degrees 25 minutes South) may have been +one of the rivers discovered by Captain Grey, but which it was impossible +for us to determine, as no account of them had been left with the +Surveyor-general, Mr. Roe.) + +It was now necessary to resume our examination of the Abrolhos, and +thirty-one miles on a West 1/4 South course, brought us between two +groups of them, where we anchored for the night in 23 fathoms. The +soundings in standing across Geelvink Channel, were 22 and 26 fathoms, +fine white sand; the current ran North-North-West, a mile an hour. + +April 11. + +At daylight we found that the summit of a large island, in the centre of +the group to the northward, bore North 21 1/2 degrees West about nine +miles. + +GOOD FRIDAY HARBOUR. + +We now beat to the southward in search of a harbour, where the ship might +lie in safety whilst we went to work with the boats, and were fortunate +enough to discover one close to the north-east point of a large island +lying in the centre of the group to the southward; which we named Easter +Group, and the harbour Good Friday Harbour, to commemorate the season of +the Christian year, at which we visited it. Perhaps at some future +period, when the light of the gospel shall have penetrated to every part +of the vast Australian continent, these sacred names, bestowed by us upon +some of its outworks, may be pronounced with pleasure, as commemorative +of the time when the darkness of ignorance and superstition was just +beginning to disperse. + +Good Friday Harbour, like all coral harbours, requires to be taken by +eye, being full of coral knolls, which necessitate the utmost vigilance. +In itself, however, it is an excellent port, capable of holding a large +number of ships, and with a general depth, between the coral patches, of +from 15 to 17 fathoms, with a fine muddy sandy bottom. The eastern +extremity of the large island bearing South by East 1/2 East led into the +harbour. As we threaded our way among the patches of coral, the view from +the masthead of the submarine forests through the still pellucid water +was very striking. The dark blue of the deep portions of the lagoon +contrasted beautifully with the various patches of light colours +interspersed. + +We found to our surprise that the group into which we had penetrated was +entirely distinct from that under which we had first anchored to the +southward, so that we had already discovered the Abrolhos to form three +separate groups. + +RAT ISLAND. + +The centre island we named Rat Island, from the quantity of that vermin +with which it was infested. We also saw here a few seals, and numbers of +a very pretty lizard (figured in the appendix) with its tail covered with +spines. Several of these were brought away alive. I had two myself for +nine months on board, and afterwards presented them to Lady Gipps. Of +those taken by Lieutenant Emery, he was so fortunate as to bring one +alive to England, in 1841. It is still in his possession, and thrives +remarkably well. In one of his last letters he writes to me as follows on +the subject: "The Abrolhos lizard is very docile, and knows Mrs. Emery +quite well, and will eat and drink out of her hand; but is timid with +strangers. Its habits are rather torpid, but it becomes active when in +the sun or before the fire. It eats so very little that a piece of sponge +cake about the size of a small bean will satisfy it for three or four +weeks. It changes its skin twice a year." + +The formation of Rat Island resembles that already noticed in Pelsart +Group; there were the same low overhanging cream-coloured limestone +cliffs, to the height of half the island; the greatest elevation of which +was 13 feet, with a similar soil, mixed with guano, and filled with +burrows of the sooty petrel, or mutton bird. Surrounding it is a low +coral reef, trending northward to the outer edge of the group. + +CORAL FORMATION. + +This reef afforded me an opportunity of examining the coral formation of +the Abrolhos, which, with the exception of Bermuda, is the place farthest +removed from the equator where coral formation is found. The reef on +which Rat Island rests extends off four hundred yards on the inner side, +and has 12 fathoms just off it, on a grey sandy mud. The greater portion +is composed of a variety of corals intermixed, and forming a consolidated +mass, with brain-stones scattered over. It is nearly dry at low-water; +but a portion does not rise so high, projecting out so as to form a +narrow shelf, from the edge of which a wall descends almost sheer to the +depth of 54 feet. The upper 20 feet are formed of a peculiar kind of +coral, growing in the shape of huge fans, spreading out from stout stems +overlapping each other in clusters, and having angular cavities between. +The coral forming the lower 34 feet of the wall is of the common large +branch kind. + +Whilst in Good Friday Harbour the quarter-master reported smoke on one of +the islands to the north-east. All eyes were instantly turned in that +direction, in curiosity to find what could have caused it. And sure +enough a long streak of smoke was curling upwards through the air. It +soon however appeared that it rose from some fire on the main, distant +about thirty-five miles, and that its being visible by us was owing to +the extreme clearness of the atmosphere. + +The observation spot on Rat Island was on the north-east end, which we +placed in latitude 32 degrees 42 minutes 50 seconds South and longitude 1 +degree 57 minutes 50 seconds West of Swan River. Having completed our +work in the harbour, we left, for the purpose of securing the requisite +material for the north-east part of this group, which we found to be a +detached cluster with deep-water between, and to be also similarly +separated from the extreme of the group--a small isle about five feet +high, composed of sand and dead coral. The average depth surrounding the +islands was 20 and 23 fathoms, being the same level as that of the great +flat or plain on which they rest, and which extends out from the +mainland, shelving off at the outer edge of the southern part of the +Abrolhos almost precipitously to no bottom with 250 fathoms. We now +proceeded southward, to examine the opening between Easter and Pelsart +Groups, and to complete the extremity of the northern part of the latter. + +SNAPPER BANK. + +On our way we discovered a coral bank of 7 fathoms, a mile and a half +long, seven miles East-South-East from the north-east end of Easter +Group. We called it Snapper Bank, from the immense quantity of that fish +which we found on it. In half an hour we caught more than we could cure, +so that it became necessary to stop the sport. This shows what a +lucrative trade might be carried on by the people of Swan River with the +Mauritius; for the lake on the island of Rottnest affording a large +supply of salt, any quantity of fish might easily be caught and cured. +The whole group is abundantly supplied, though nowhere so plentifully as +at Snapper Bank. + +From near the south-east end of this bank the main was visible from the +Beagle's poop. Here we anchored for the night in 24 fathoms, and next +morning stood out to sea between Easter and Pelsart Groups to ascertain +if there were any more reefs to the westward, though the long unbroken +swell was almost sufficient to convince us that there were none. + +SOUNDINGS BETWEEN THE GROUPS. + +In a line between the outer reefs of the two groups the depth was 36 +fathoms; a mile and a half further in we had 29; but outside it deepened +off suddenly to no bottom with 70, and in two miles and a half to none +with 170. Before returning we tried for bottom with 250; but, as has been +already mentioned, without success. Outside the reef we felt a current +setting a mile an hour North-North-West. In standing in again we passed +close round the north-west end of the reef encircling Pelsart Group, in +31 fathoms, and anchored in 17, just without a line of discoloured water, +which we found to have 5 fathoms in the outer part, extending across the +mouth of the lagoon; the largest island bearing South by West one mile +and three-quarters. + +GUN ISLAND. DUTCH REMAINS. + +April 24. + +In the morning the boats were despatched on their ordinary work, and +Captain Wickham and myself landed on the largest island, a quarter of a +mile long, forming the north-western extreme of Pelsart Group, and which +we named Gun Island, from our finding on it a small brass four-pounder of +singular construction, now deposited in the United Service Museum (see +the cut annexed) with quantities of ornamental brasswork for harness, on +which the gilding was in a wonderful state of preservation; a number of +glass bottles and pipes, and two Dutch doits, bearing date 1707 and 1720. +This was a very interesting discovery, and left no doubt that we had +found the island on which the crew of the Zeewyk were wrecked, in 1727, +and where they remained so long, whilst building, from the fragments of +their vessel, a sloop, in which they got to sea by the passage between +Easter and Pelsart Groups, which has consequently been called Zeewyk +Passage. The scene of their disaster must have been on the outer reef, a +mile and three-quarters south-west from Gun Island, along which ran a +white ridge of high breakers. + +The glass bottles I have mentioned were of a short stout Dutch build, and +were placed in rows, as if for the purpose of collecting water; some of +them were very large, being capable of holding five or six gallons; they +were in part buried in the sand, and the portion which was left exposed +to the air presented a singular appearance, being covered with a white +substance that had eaten away the glaze. A number of seal bones were +noticed on this island; and I have no doubt they are the remains of those +that were killed by the crew of the Zeewyk for their subsistence. On the +north end of the island was a hole containing brackish water; when we dug +it deeper the salt water poured in. The next small islet to the +East-South-East we discovered to be that on which the Dutchmen had built +their sloop. On the west side of it was a spot free from coral reefs, +thus offering them facilities, nowhere else afforded, for launching the +bark which ultimately carried them in safety to Batavia. + +A mile and a half to the southward of Gun Island, opposite a +singular-looking indentation in the outer side of the reefs, a small +cluster of cliffy islets approaches within half a mile of them. It is +rather singular that in another of the group--larger than Gun Island, +lying in the centre of the lagoon, and the only one not visited by the +Beagle's boats--water should have been found by a party who came from +Swan River to save the wreck of a ship lost in 1843, close to the spot on +which the Batavia struck more than two hundred years ago. This island is +called in the chart Middle Island. The well is on the south point, and +the water, which is very good, rises and falls with the tide. Doubtless +this must have been the island on which the crew of Pelsart's ship found +water, though for some time they were deterred from tasting it by +observing its ebb and flow, from which they inferred it would prove salt. +The north point of Gun Island, which our observations placed in latitude +28 degrees 53 minutes 10 seconds South, longitude 1 degree 53 minutes 35 +seconds West of Swan River, is fronted for half a mile by a reef. + +MANGROVE ISLETS. + +The ship was now moved to the north-east extreme of the lagoon, to which +we crossed in 17 fathoms--the depth we anchored in, a mile north-west +from a cluster of islets covered in places with mangroves, from which +they receive their name. To the southward the depth in the lagoon, as far +as a square-looking island, was 15 and 16 fathoms. The north extreme of +the south island lay three miles to the south east of the Mangrove +Islets, by which we found that its length was nearly ten miles, with a +general width of about a tenth of a mile. + +One of the eastern Mangrove Islets was a mere caY, formed of large flat +pieces of dead coral, of the same kind as that of which I have before +spoken as resembling a fan, strewed over a limestone foundation one foot +above the level of the sea, in the greatest possible confusion, to the +height of five feet. In walking over them they yielded a metallic sound. +Pelsart, like Easter Group, is marked by a detached islet lying a mile +off its north-east extreme. + +May 3. + +We fetched in under the Lee of Easter Group as the north-west gale of +this morning commenced. The barometer did not indicate the approach of +the gale, falling with it, and acting as in those we had encountered at +Swan River. + +SINGULAR SUNSET. + +The sunset of the two days preceding had presented a very lurid +appearance, and the most fantastically shaped clouds had been scattered +over the red western sky. It seemed as though nature had determined to +entertain us with a series of dissolving views. Headlands and mountains +with cloud-capped pinnacles appeared and faded away; ships under sail +floated across the sky; towers and palaces reared their forms +indistinctly amid the vapour, and then vanished, like the baseless fabric +of a dream. + +The winds since the 29th had been very easterly; but early on the 1st +became fresh from north-east; a stagnant suspicious calm then succeeded, +during the forenoon of the 2nd. At noon the glassy surface of the water +began to darken here and there in patches with the first sighing of the +breeze, which soon became steady at north-west, and troubled the whole +expanse as far as the eye could reach. + +HEAVY GALE. + +It was not, however, as I have said, before daylight of the 3rd that the +gale commenced in earnest, continuing with great violence, accompanied +with heavy squalls of rain, till noon next day, when the wind had veered +to South-South-West. During this time the whole aspect of the scene was +changed; immense dark banks of clouds rested on the contracted horizon; +the coral islands by which we were surrounded loomed indistinctly through +the driving mist; and the decks were drenched by heavy showers that +occurred at intervals. The wind blew hardest from West-North-West, and +began to moderate about nine on the morning of the 4th, when it had got +round to south-west. The current during this breeze set a mile and a half +East-South-East, changing again to the northward as the wind veered round +to the southward. This clearly shows how certainly, in this +neighbourhood, the movements of the air influence those of the sea. + +WATER-SPOUTS. + +It was the evening of the 5th before all was again clear overhead. In the +morning, however, we shifted our berth, which had been a mile from the +south extreme of the detached cluster of islets forming the north-east +end of Easter Group. Several small water-spouts formed near the ship as +we were about to weigh, which induced us to wait a little until they +passed. + +On the 8th we bore away for the northern group in 26 and 27 fathoms; the +space between was named Middle Passage. + +WALLABY ISLANDS. + +Passing outside of a patch of breakers, lying two miles to the northward +of the eastern islet, we hauled up south-east, and by feeling our way +with the boats got the ship into a snug harbour on the south-east side of +the highest island of the Abrolhos, which was afterwards named East +Wallaby Island; another large one, named West Wallaby Island, lying two +miles to the West-South-West with three small flat islets just between. +To these we gave the name of Pigeon Islands, the common bronze-winged +pigeon being found there in great numbers. The harbour we named Recruit +Harbour, from its affording fresh supplies of the small kangaroo, in +addition to the fish found everywhere else. Like the other ports in the +Abrolhos, it is full of coral patches; the south point of north Pigeon +Island, in one with a bare sandhill on the South-East point of West +Wallaby Island, bearing South 50 degrees West, leads into the harbour +clear of the spit on the north-west side and some coral patches on the +east. In entering we had 7 and 8 fathoms, but the depth inside is 11 and +12; it is perfectly sheltered on all sides. + +These islands, after the others, of which the greatest height is 12 feet, +appear of considerable altitude; though the loftiest point rising on the +north-east extreme of East Wallaby Island, measures no more than 50 feet. +This island is upwards of a mile each way; whilst the west one is two +miles and a half long, and one broad. In the centre of the eastern is a +low flat, with hills rising all around, with the exception of the south +side. + +FLAG HILL. + +The loftiest, which is called Flag Hill, is, as I have mentioned, on the +north-eastern extreme, and has a long finger-shaped point running out +from its foot in a north-east direction, to which we gave the name of +Fish Point, from the number of snappers we caught there. They were so +voracious that they even allowed themselves to be taken with a small bit +of paper for a bait. Flag Hill is a rock formed of sand and comminuted +shells; while the flat which stretches to the south-west from its foot is +of limestone formation. In it we found a kind of cavern, about 15 feet +deep, with a sloping entrance, in which was some slightly brackish water, +that in percolating through the roof had formed a number of stalactites. + +A reef, which dries in patches at low-water, connects the east and west +Wallaby Islands. On the south-west point of the latter are some sandhills +30 feet high; and on that side also is a dense scrub, in which the mutton +birds burrow, so that it forms rather troublesome walking. + +SLAUGHTER POINT. NEW SPECIES OF WALLABY. + +The northern end is a level, stony flat, terminating towards the sea in +projecting cliffs six or eight feet high; with patches of bushes large +enough to serve as fuel here and there, all full of a new species of +wallaby, which, being plentiful on both the large islands, suggested +their name. The reader will obtain a good idea of the numbers in which +these animals were found, when I state that on one day, within four +hours, I shot 36, and that between three guns we killed 76, averaging in +weight about seven pounds each; which gave rise to the name of Slaughter +Point for the eastern extreme of the island. + +As there is no record of the Dutch having visited the northern group, it +is impossible to say whether wallaby were then found on it or not. How +they could have got there is a mystery, as there were no large floating +masses likely to have carried them from the main. The species has been +described from a specimen we obtained, as Halmaturus houtmannii; it is +distinct from Halmaturus derbyanis, found on most of the islands on the +southern parts of the continent. + +We shall now fulfil our promise to the reader by laying before him the +result of Mr. Bynoe's interesting observations on the Marsupiata, which +the number of wallaby killed at Houtman's Abrolhos afforded him the means +of perfecting. I may preface his remarks by stating, that all the +information I could gain from the colonists on the subject was, that the +young of the kangaroo were born on the nipple, which my own experience +appears to corroborate. + +MR. BYNOE'S OBSERVATIONS ON THE MARSUPIATA. + +"My first examination," says Mr. Bynoe, "of the kangaroo tribe, to any +extent, occurred at the Abrolhos; there I had an extensive field for +ascertaining the exact state of the uteri of the wallaby of those +islands. I opened between two and three hundred, and never found even the +rudiments of an embryo; but in the pouch I have seen the young adhering +to the nipple from the weight of half a dram to eight ounces and upwards. +On examination, the only substance found in the womb when the animal was +young and full grown, was a cheese-like substance of a straw colour: I +likewise found a similar substance in the pouch around the nipples, and +in many instances where the nipples were much retracted, it completely +covered them, but it was of a darker hue than that in the uterus, and of +a saponaceous or greasy feel; the aperture of the pouch so much +contracted as scarcely to admit two fingers; wombs with their cornua +remarkably small, and nipples in the pouch scarcely pointing, and in many +instances retracted. + +"Animals with these appearances, I concluded, had never borne young. +Examinations frequently took place immediately after they were shot. In +those that had recently discarded their young from the pouch, one nipple +and frequently two were found much lengthened, and very often one more +than the other. I have seen them in the wallaby frequently two inches in +length, and with pouches so large, that you could with ease thrust your +hand into them; the uteri with their appendages enlarged and apparently +very vascular, as well as thickened; but in no one instance at the +Abrolhos could I detect a gravid uterus; but I have seen the young +adhering to the nipples less than half an inch in length, and in a +perfectly helpless state. It is generally supposed that the uterus in the +adult animal is not supplied with much arterial blood, merely sufficient +to nourish that viscus. If such be the case, can it have the power of +retaining the germ in the womb, when on the most minute examination of +the young, I could not detect, by cicatrice or line of abrasion on any +part of the abdomen, that they ever possessed umbilical vessels, or had +been in any way nourished by a placenta? Let us take into consideration +the small size of the animal found in the pouch, its utter helplessness, +its slight power of motion, and its firm attachment to the nipple. The +more it is in the embryonic state the firmer is its attachment to the +mother; to separate it from the nipple requires some force; the +surrounding parts of the opening of the mouth, after separation, bleed +profusely, and the animal has no power to close it; the opening remains +gaping and circular, the animal lies on its side, and if very young, soon +dies. On each side of the opening is a line showing the extent of the +mouth. When arrived at greater maturity it can make no noise until the +mouth is fully developed, and then a faint hissing note; it has no power +to stand until very large, and the hair is about to shoot out from the +skin. An animal in so helpless a situation could not possibly, with all +the aids and contrivances of the mother, attach itself to the nipple and +produce adhesion of the oral aperture, when even at a later period it has +no motion of life or power to close that opening. The retention in the +uterus must be of short duration. I have been led to these conclusions +from examinations on the banks of the Victoria River. A flying doe, +inhabiting the grass flats, of more than ordinary size, was killed. In +thrusting my fingers into the pouch, I found that the mammary glands were +remarkably enlarged, pressing forcibly into that cavity. I questioned the +seaman who took up the animal, immediately after being shot, whether he +had taken the young out, and received a negative answer. Finding the +mammary glands so extremely enlarged, I was induced (although pressed for +time) to examine the uterus, and posterior and internal parts of those +glands--the cornua as well as the other parts of the uterus were much +thickened, and apparently highly injected with blood. On opening the +cavity I found it throughout thickly coated with slimy or mucal secretion +(the only uterus found by me in this state.) I now extended my +examination in front of the womb to the posterior part of the mammae, and +in doing so discovered a small gelatinous mass, about twice the size of a +pea. On a closer inspection, it appeared to be retained in a thin +transparent tube. I watched the substance narrowly and could distinctly +perceive the rudiments of an animal. The feet were not developed, but +pulsation and motion were not only observed by me, but by two of the men +with me, both exclaiming "look at the little animal!" although I feel +convinced that they did not know what I was searching for. There was not +time to examine further into its state. I carefully removed the uterus, +the apparent embryo and the mammae, and put it in a wide-mouthed bottle +with some spirits, and gave it in charge of the seaman who was to carry a +portion of the animal for the dinner of that day. It was placed in a +canvas bag, but on crossing a Deep watercourse he had the misfortune to +break the bottle, which he never mentioned until the following day. The +contents soon dried up and became an uniform mass. The intense heat had +rendered it so firm that nothing could be made of it; all the gelatinous +parts had adhered so firmly to the bag, that I was compelled to abandon +it. My object was to ascertain if there was a communication in a greater +state of development between the womb and posterior part of the mammae, +during the period of gestation; and I was fancying I had arrived at some +conclusion, but all my hopes were destroyed by one fatal smash! So many +theories have been formed on that point--that to advance this as a fact, +would be treading too firmly on tender ground. At the first view of the +gelatinous mass I seriously considered whether it could have been a +gland, and whether the pulsation might have been communicated from +muscular twitchings; I took my eye off the substance for some time, and +on again looking at it, felt more confident than ever, that it was not a +glandular substance. Its peculiar configuration and want of solidity +proved it indeed not to be gland; its motion, on touching it with the +point of the finger, was so much that of an embryonic animal, that I at +once, without further investigation, pronounced it a kangaroo. + +"Might not the tube I discovered convey the animal to the posterior part +of the mammae, where it might become attached to the nipple in an +inverted state? At any rate it was not in the body of the uterus. Had the +mass been saved I should have taken one more look of inquiry without +attempting to alter its structure, and left the matter for the judicious +decision of some of the professors of comparative anatomy at home." + +It may here be remarked that the birds met with on Houtman's Abrolhos, +with the exception of one, resembling in shape and colour a small quail,* +were known and common on the mainland. The aquatic species were also +familiar to us; but the habit of one kind, of a sooty-black colour, +generally called noddies, was quite new--that of building their nests, +which are constructed of seaweed and contain only one egg, in trees. +There were not many varieties of fish, the most abundant being snappers; +of those that were rare Lieutenant Emery made faithful sketches. + +(*Footnote. Haemapodicus scintilans, Gould.) + +Half a mile west from Slaughter Point we found two caverns similar to +that on East Wallaby Island, from which we got three tons of excellent +water. + +APPEARANCE OF THE REEFS. + +The reefs surrounding this group appeared very much broken; and even at +Easter Group we had found them to be not so regular as at Pelsart's. This +suggests the idea, which appears to be borne out by all we saw, that the +reefs are compact in proportion to the exposed position of the islands; +the shelter afforded by Pelsart Group, in fact, did not require the reefs +to be so united round the other islands to the north. + +From the highest part of East Wallaby Island we discovered a patch of +land bearing North-West 1/2 North eleven miles. The outer reef extended +in that direction from the south-west point of West Wallaby Island, +though it could only be traced by detached patches of breakers. To the +south-east of its commencement lies Evening Reef. The observations were +made on the north end of the north-east Pigeon Island, bearing West by +South half a mile from our anchorage, in latitude 32 degrees 27 minutes +21 seconds South and longitude 2 degrees 1 minute 10 seconds West of Swan +River, variation 4 degrees 10 minutes westerly. The temperature of +Houtman's Abrolhos is rendered equable by the fact that they lie at the +limit of the land breezes; during the month we were there the thermometer +averaged 71 degrees. + +Our protracted stay enabled us to get a tolerable series of tidal +observations, which present some singular results. The time of high-water +at the full and change was six o'clock when the tide rose 30 inches. It +appeared that during the night there was a short flood of six hours with +a rise of seven inches, and an ebb of two hours with a fall of only five +inches; but that during the day the flow and ebb were nearly equal, the +former being eight hours and twenty minutes, the latter eight hours and +five minutes, and the rise and fall in each being 25 and 26 inches +respectively. + +TIDAL OBSERVATIONS. + +A difference was also noticed between the day and night tides at Rat +Island, where the time of high-water at the full and change of the moon +was ten o'clock, and the rise varied from 8 to 32 inches, from the result +of twenty-five observations; by which I found, moreover, that the tides +ebbed five hours and a half in the night, and six hours and a half during +the day, and the water fell 9 inches with the night, and 18 with the day +ebb. The difference between the length of the night and the day floods +was an hour; the duration of the former being six hours, whilst that of +the latter was seven; whilst the difference in the rise was 7 inches, the +greatest general height, which was during the night tides, being 20 +inches. + +We were detained in Recruit Harbour until May 21st, determining the +position of the number of small islands and detached reefs to the +south-east of Wallaby Islands; but at length, after completing the +soundings on the north-east and north side and ascertaining the extent of +the reef to the north-west, we proceeded to the isolated patch of land +before mentioned as seen from Flag Hill, and which, from its relative +position to the remainder of Houtman's Abrolhos, we called North Island. + +An anchorage was found in 12 fathoms, three quarters of a mile from a bay +on the north-east side, and half a mile from the reef extending to the +northward. The island was about a mile across, and nearly circular. It +was surrounded by a range of hills, with a flat in the centre, covered +with coarse grass, where a great many quails were flushed, affording good +sport, but not a single wallaby. + +RECORD HILL. + +The highest hill on the south-west point, measuring 42 feet, received the +name of Record Hill, from our leaving a paper in a bottle, giving an +account of our cruise. A contiguous reef stretched out from the west side +of the island for the distance of a mile, beyond which was the open sea. +This reef extended two miles and a half to the North-North-West and four +miles and a half to the southward. Our observations were made on a +sandhill 36 feet high, immediately over the bay, which they placed in +latitude 32 degrees 18 minutes 5 seconds South longitude 2 degrees 9 +minutes West from Swan River. + +LEAVE HOUTMAN'S ABROLHOS. + +May 23. + +From Record Hill we had perceived that the sea was quite clear to the +north and west beyond the reef, and being satisfied that we had reached +the extremity of Houtman's Abrolhos,* we weighed in the morning, and +passed about a mile and a half from the reef to the north of the island +in 26 fathoms; and hauling up South-South-West, along the western side of +the reefs, gradually deepened the water to 42 fathoms over a rocky +ground, Record Hill bearing North 70 degrees East six miles and a half. +We then had no bottom with 50 and 60 fathoms until noon, when we had 122 +fathoms, sand and coral; Record Hill then bearing North 52 degrees East +eleven miles and a half, just barely visible from the poop. It is +singular that we should have had bottom at that distance from the group, +whereas, when we had not proceeded half so far from the southern portion +we had no bottom with 200 fathoms. + +(*Footnote. Their extent in latitude therefore nearly corresponded with +the old chart; and the apparent confusion in the shape given them, no +doubt arose from their extremes only having been seen and then extended +towards each other.) + +To ascertain if there were any more reefs to the westward, we now steered +West-South-West, sounding occasionally with 200 and 220 fathoms +unsuccessfully. + +After running thirty-two miles without seeing any indication of further +dangers, of which, moreover, the long ocean swell rolling in convinced +us, we steered to the northward. + +GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. + +It may be proper to conclude our account of Houtman's Abrolhos with a few +general remarks. They form three groups instead of one, as was formerly +supposed; Pelsart Group being separated from Easter Group by a channel, +the least width of which is four miles, whilst the middle passage between +the latter and the Northern Group is six miles wide. The Abrolhos extend +in a North-North-West direction forty-eight miles, diminishing in breadth +towards the north; the greatest width of Easter and Pelsart Groups being +twelve miles in a West-South-West direction. In Easter Group the outer +reefs are most distant from the islands, being there four miles from the +nearest, which is Rat Island. In the Northern Group the islands are more +detached than in the others, and North Island is separated from them by a +distance of ten miles. + +We have already alluded to the regularity and sameness in the soundings +in these groups, and between them and the main, clearly showing that they +are not connected with each other, but rest on the outer extremity of a +level or bank, stretching out from the main, and having a slight +southerly inclination, the depth (29 fathoms) between the southern group +and the coast being greater by four fathoms than between the coast and +the northern group. On either side of the Abrolhos, at the same distance +from land, the depth is more than 100 fathoms. The general nature of the +bottom, in the quiet places between the reefs, is a fine grey sandy mud +or marl, but in more exposed situations this is not so compact, whilst +broken shells are more abundant. This bottom bears a striking resemblance +to that within the Great Barrier Reefs. + +After leaving the Abrolhos, as I have narrated, our progress to the +northward was unusually slow, and between the parallels of 26 degrees 50 +minutes South and 25 degrees 40 minutes South we again got into soundings +varying from 187 to 81 fathoms, fine grey sand. At the greatest depth the +ship was forty miles from the land, and twenty miles at the least, which +was off Dirk Hartog's Island, at the south point of Sharks Bay. In +passing round the north-west extremity of the continent we delayed, again +endeavouring to get sight of Ritchie's Reef; but, on this occasion, as on +our passage from the Victoria to Swan River, it was not seen, and as no +bottom was obtained with 200 and 240 fathoms in its assigned position on +the chart, it must either have a very different one or does not exist. + +PROCEED TO THE COAST. + +The part of the North-west coast that had not been seen by Captain King, +commencing a short distance to the east of Depuch Island, it was resolved +that our survey of that part should begin there, and on the 9th of June +the Beagle reached an anchorage off a sandy bay on the north-east side of +that island. As we drew near our progress was impeded by a fierce +south-east breeze during the forenoons, which we found to prevail during +our stay, being stronger at the full and change of the moon. Although +coming directly from the land they quite made us shiver, reducing the +temperature on one occasion to 59 degrees. These winds began about +daylight at south, gradually veering and drawing round to the eastward as +the day advanced, and subsiding again as rapidly after noon, leaving the +evening and night generally calm. + +SEARCH FOR WATER. + +A search was immediately made for the stream of fresh water reported to +have been found by the French, in Freycinet's voyage, on Depuch Island. +As our stock was now very much reduced, and as our stay on the coast +depended on the supply we could procure here, we were greatly concerned +to find that our examination was in vain. Everything appeared parched up; +wells were forthwith commenced, and we dug as many as eight, but at the +depth of twenty-one feet the water that poured into them was salt. +Fortunately Mr. Bynoe found a reservoir of water in the main valley +leading up from the north end of the sandy beach, and about a mile from +the sea. From this we got about six tons of tolerable water, although the +labour of carrying it on the men's shoulders in seven-gallon barecas was +very great, the only road lying through the valley, which, as may be +inferred from the rounded stones it is strewed with, sometimes conveys a +torrent to the sea. Large columnar blocks of the greenstone of which the +island is composed, present, as the sun falls on their iron rusty +surface, an appearance as if the sides of the valley were lined with red +warriors. The section presented to our view, by the deepest well we sank +at the mouth of this valley, consisted of a light kind of mould for six +feet, then a layer of sand and shells of the same depth, resting on a +coarse soft kind of reddish sandstone. + +FORESTIER GROUP. + +Depuch is the centre of a string of islands which bears the name of +Forestier Group, fronting the coast at the distance of from one to three +miles. It is much larger than the others, being about eight miles in +circumference, and reaching an elevation of 514 feet; whereas the smaller +islands, some of which are thickly covered with brushwood and coarse +grass, are none of them above 50 feet high. They are of a formation +totally different, being of a very coarse gritty yellow sandstone, in +many places quite honeycombed, with some low sandhills superimposed. + +DEPUCH ISLAND. + +Although Depuch Island is one vast pile of reddish-coloured blocks, +scattered about in the greatest possible confusion, sometimes resembling +basaltic columns, its outline from seaward appears even. In the valleys, +and on some of the more level spots near the summit, there are +occasionally slight layers of soil, affording nourishment to a coarse +grass, a few bushes, and several stunted eucalypti; but on the whole the +vegetation of the island is extremely scanty. From the highest point we +had a view over the main, extending inland for a great distance. It +appeared to be flat, with the exception of some isolated rocky hills, of +a formation similar to that of Depuch, from 200 to 500 feet in height, +and about six miles from the shore. We could also see at a distance of +twenty-eight miles a very remarkable pyramidal hill, surmounted by a +tower-like piece of rock, bearing from our position South 30 degrees +West. From the white appearance of many large patches of the level +country, we inferred that they were covered with a salt efflorescence; +and it is probable that a very great portion of it is occasionally +flooded, being cut up by a number of creeks, which must overflow at +spring tides, especially when they occur simultaneously with the +north-west winds that prevail on this coast during the monsoon. + +This group of islands is so connected with the main by extensive +sandbanks, that at low-water it is possible to walk across to them; and +of this facility the natives no doubt avail themselves to procure turtle. +It appears indeed to be only on such occasions that they can visit +Forestier Group, as we saw no traces of rafts on this portion of the +coast. Depuch Island would seem to be their favourite resort; and we +found several of their huts still standing. They were constructed of +boughs and twigs fixed in the ground, and joined overhead in a circular +shape. Over this was thrown a loose matting of twisted grass. + +NATIVE DRAWINGS. + +The natives are doubtless attracted to the place partly by the reservoirs +of water they find among the rocks after rain, partly that they may enjoy +the pleasure of delineating the various objects that attract their +attention, on the smooth surface of the rocks. This they do by removing +the hard red outer coating, and baring to view the natural colour of the +greenstone, according to the outline they have traced. Much ability is +displayed in many of these representations, the subjects of which could +be discovered at a glance. The number of specimens was immense, so that +the natives must have been in the habit of amusing themselves in this +innocent manner for a long period of time. I could not help reflecting, +as I examined with interest the various objects represented*--the human +figures, the animals, the birds, the weapons, the domestic implements, +the scenes of savage life--on the curious frame of mind that could induce +these uncultivated people to repair, perhaps at stated seasons of the +year, to this lonely picture gallery, surrounded by the ocean-wave, to +admire and add to the productions of their forefathers. No doubt they +expended on their works of art as much patience and labour and enthusiasm +as ever was exhibited by a Raphael or a Michael Angelo in adorning the +walls of St. Peter or the Vatican; and perhaps the admiration and +applause of their fellow countrymen imparted as much pleasure to their +minds as the patronage of popes and princes, and the laudation of the +civilized world, to the great masters of Italy. There is in the human +mind an irresistible tendency to indulge in a sort of minor creation--to +tread humbly in the footsteps of the Maker--to reproduce the images that +revolve within it, and to form, from its own ideas, a mimic +representation of the actual world. This is the source of all art and all +poetry; of every thing, in fact, which tends to adorn and refine our +nature. It is this uncontrollable desire to work on and fashion the rough +materials that lie under our hands that gives the first impulse to +civilization, and impels us onward in the progress of improvement. And +wherever we discern the faintest indication that such a principle is at +work, there we may securely hope that development will ultimately take +place. Until we find a nation which has never attempted to emerge from +the circle of its mere animal wants--which has never exhibited the least +inclination to develop the most ordinary arts--which not only rejects +clothing, but is absolutely indifferent to ornament--which leaves its +weapons uncarved, its skin unpainted, free from tattoo, we must not +despair of the general efficacy of civilization. These savages of +Australia, as we call them, who have adorned the rocks of Depuch Island +with their drawings, have in one thing proved themselves superior to the +Egyptian and the Etruscan, whose works have elicited so much admiration +and afforded food to so many speculations--namely, there is not in them +to be observed the slightest trace of indecency. + +(*Footnote. See the accompanying lithographic impression of the copies +made by Captain Wickham of the native drawings on Depuch Island.) + +During our stay we did not see any of the natives on the island; but on +the main several of them were observed, though they would not allow us to +communicate, moving off as soon as any attempt was made to get near them +in the boats. On one occasion, when Mr. Fitzmaurice, in a whaleboat, was +examining a part of the coast to the eastward of Depuch Island, he +entered a creek, which soon, however, became too confined by the +mud-banks for them to use the oars. + +HOSTILITY OP THE NATIVES. + +While in this position a shout attracted his attention, and he perceived +a party of natives, armed with spears approaching the boat, with evident +hostile designs. They of course naturally looked upon us as intruders; +and as the point was not worth contesting, the creek being of no +importance, Mr. Fitzmaurice thought it better to withdraw, rather than +run the risk of a collision that could have led to no beneficial results. + +TOM'S TERROR OF THEM. + +The native youth we had brought with us from Swan River did not at all +approve of these excursions. He was generally taken, with a view of +giving confidence to any of his wild countrymen who might be encountered; +but he exhibited the greatest possible repugnance to this service. His +terror for the northern men fully equalled that of Miago, from whom +doubtless he had received the most terrific accounts. It was only by +giving him a gun that he could be at all induced to go. He evidently felt +himself more secure with European arms than with his own rude ones; and +appeared to have learnt their superiority by experience, for he was a +very fair shot. When I first asked him why he did not prefer his spear, +his simple reply was, "Can't look out;" meaning that the northern men +could not see the contents of a gun coming, whereas if a spear were +hurled at them they could avoid it. His bravery was of much the same +complexion as that of Miago; and he threatened magnanimously to inflict +the most condign punishment on the fellows who opposed Mr. Fitzmaurice's +landing. He had a strong impression that these northern people were of +gigantic stature; and in the midst of the silent and gaping interest with +which he listened to Mr. Fitzmaurice's account of his adventure, the +words big fella often escaped from his lips; and he appeared quite +satisfied when assured that his opinion was correct. + +The agility this native exhibited in spearing fish was astonishing. In +shallow water he would actually course the fish till he got them within +spearing depth, when, although his prey darted past, he struck it with +the most surprising precision. The quiet, splashless manner in which he +ran through the water was really singular. When his spear required new +pointing, the sole of his foot was turned up and the spear's head pared +down upon it with a knife. When the latter was not to be procured the +teeth were made use of; and I may here remark that the constant use which +some savages make of their teeth may have much to do in producing the +projecting jaw. It seems almost evident to common sense that the constant +employment of the teeth must have a material effect in causing a change +in the facial angle. + +ANCHORAGE AT DEPUCH ISLAND. + +We found the anchorage at Depuch Island to form a tolerable port, being +protected from the north-east by one of the group, distant about three +miles, from which a reef extends to the West-North-West, leaving the +mouth of the harbour exposed only between North-West by North and +West-North-West. Our observations placed the centre of the sandy beach on +the north-east side of the island in latitude 20 degrees 37 minutes 47 +seconds South and longitude 2 degrees 0 minutes 20 seconds West of Swan +River, variation 2 degrees westerly; and the time of high-water, at the +full and change, at half past ten, when the tide rose 15 feet, but only 5 +during neaps. + +NEW BIRD AND KANGAROO. + +Although Depuch Island had been visited before, there still remained +something quite new to reward the diligent search that was made after +objects of natural history: namely, a small kind of kangaroo, a land +bird, and a shell, a species of Helix. The bird was shot by Mr. Bynoe; it +was a finch,* and beautifully marked with stripes of crimson down the +breast, on a black ground with white spots; the throat, and a patch round +the stump of the tail, were crimson. It is remarkable that all the beauty +and brilliancy of colour in this bird is underneath, the back being of a +common earthy brown. + +(*Footnote. Named by Mr. Gould from this specimen, Emblema picta.) + +The kangaroo I had myself the good fortune to knock over on the summit of +the island; it was the only one shot during many an excursion made over +that dreary heap of desolation, the metallic sound the rocks yielded to +our step giving ample warning of our approach to their quick ears. The +colours of this specimen, the prettiest we had seen, were a dark grey, +with a large angular patch of white down the side, extending from the top +of the shoulders nearly to the hips. Down the centre of the back, ran a +streak of black, which was also the colour of the extremity of its +slightly bushy tail. The face and belly were likewise darker than other +parts of the body, and the feet were black and well cushioned, giving it +a firm hold of the rocks over which it bounded with surprising agility, +through it never ran very far, always popping into the cavities caused by +the loose manner in which the blocks forming the island are thrown +together.* + +(*Footnote. Mr. Gould has figured an animal very like this I have +described, as Petrogale lateralis, or the Stripe-Sided Rock Wallaby, from +a specimen he some time afterwards got from Western Australia; but he has +not noticed the beautiful kangaroo of Depuch Island.) + +The specimen of the species of Helix I have above mentioned was found by +Mr. Dring, one of our most successful collectors in that department. In +the Appendix are figured some of the new shells discovered during the +voyage. + +Leaving Depuch Island, we examined the coast to the eastward as far as +the Turtle Isles, a distance of eighty-five miles, the first twenty-seven +of which trended North 55 degrees East, and the remainder North 67 +degrees East curving slightly inwards. As the French had obtained a +distant view of this coast, it did not possess to us the interest of +being a new portion of the continent. + +EFFECTS OF MIRAGE. + +Still the effect of the treacherous mirage, which has often deluded the +way-worn thirsty traveller with the false appearance of water, raised +many parts of the interior that had not before met the eye of an +European. These presented a very level outline. The interior was, for a +great distance, a vast plain, so low that we could scarcely see it from +the ship's masthead over the sandhills, which did not exceed the height +of 40 feet. Six or seven miles from the Turtle Isles this extensive level +was interrupted by the presence of a group of hills, from 200 to 300 feet +in elevation, apparently of the same character as the heights behind +Depuch Island. As seen through the medium of mirage, they often had a +most curious appearance: high continuous ranges, changing again to lofty +islands, danced in the tremulous air. I should remark that when the land +was subject to this distortion, it was always during the forenoon, and on +those days the winds were invariably light. + +APPEARANCE OF THE COAST. + +The shore, for nearly fifteen miles from Depuch Island is very low, lined +with mangroves, and intersected by creeks, which at high-water, when the +tide rises sometimes 18 feet, are of some magnitude, and inundate much of +the low land, leaving large portions of it whitened by a salt +incrustation. Beyond, as far as the Turtle Isles, the coast is fronted +with a ridge of sandhills, scantily covered with vegetation (the highest, +as I have already said, rarely exceeding an elevation of 40 feet) forming +a barrier between the sea and the low lands behind, which, from the +masthead, appeared to be thickly covered with small trees, and slightly +raised from three to seven miles from the coast. Several of the natives +showed themselves at a distance, and from the numerous fires, it appeared +to be a well inhabited part of the continent. Still we saw no appearance +of a stream of fresh water; and, though there were several creeks, the +only opening of any consequence was forty-three miles from Depuch Island. +From its abounding with oysters we named it Oyster Inlet. Across the +mouth of it lies an islet, just within the north-eastern end of which +there was a sufficient depth for the Beagle. The formation of the island +was a reddish porous sandstone. At a native fire-place I found a piece of +quartz and a large pearl oyster-shell. The tide rose here 15 feet near +full moon. + +THE GEOGRAPHE SHOALS. + +The only outlying dangers on this extent of coast were the Geographe +Shoals, two rocky patches some distance from each other. The outer one +was thirteen miles from the main, and bore North 22 degrees East +twenty-three miles from Depuch Island. + +TURTLE ISLANDS. + +The shore fronting the north Turtle Island projects, leaving a space of +only ten miles between, of which, on account of the shoals, only a small +portion lying near the island is navigable. Nearly opposite the latter is +another opening, of some extent at high-water; but from the impediments +that offered to our examining it, we named it Breaker Inlet. During +spring tides it must carry a large body of water over the very low land +it intersects. + +The South Turtle Isle is a mere bank of sand and white coral; the +northern is about half a mile across, of the same formation precisely as +the low isles of Forestier Group. It is fronted on all sides with a coral +reef extending off from a mile to a mile and a half, which dries at +low-water, leaving an abrupt wall of from two to three feet at the outer +edge, with pools between it and the island, in which several luckless +turtles, who had deferred leaving until too late, were found. Though we +only took what was required for our own consumption, the number that +could have been here obtained was enormous. + +In the course of four hours thirty green turtles were brought on board, +one of which, and not the largest, weighed 385 pounds. A small hawk's +bill, the first and only one seen, was also taken. On this part of the +coast grows a peculiar small kind of weed, on which they feed; it was +first seen near Depuch Island. I have been informed that the turtles at +Ascension Island, when fresh caught, have a large ball of a curious kind +of weed in their stomach, and that as soon as it is consumed, they become +watery and lose their flavour. Though many diligent inquiries have been +made after this weed, it appears to be still unknown. + +A sandhill on the south-east end of the North Isle our observations +placed in latitude 19 degrees 53 minutes 48 seconds South, and longitude +3 degrees 09 minutes 10 seconds East of Swan River; variation 1 degree 0 +minutes westerly. The tide ran between the island and the shore nearly +two knots an hour; the flood stream came from the north-west; and the +rise at springs was 18 feet, the time of high-water being 11 o'clock. + +SEARCH FOR WATER. + +A fruitless attempt was made to procure water on this island, by digging; +and as we were now reduced to a supply for only ten days, it became +necessary that we should immediately proceed to Timor in search of some. +This was much to be regretted at the present moment, as the coast to the +east had never been seen, and therefore possessed the charm of being a +new part of the continent. We consoled ourselves for not being able to +visit it by the reflection that it would hold out some inducement for us +to return to this land of sterility. + +On Turtle Island was found a broken jar, probably left by some of the +Macassar people, who are occasionally blown in upon this part of the +coast. + +July 14. + +The unusual fogs that had prevailed for three days dispersing, allowed us +to leave our anchorage under the south-east side of North Turtle Isle, +and soon after dark we occupied another near Bedout Island, having +crossed some rocky ledges of seven fathoms on the way. When the Beagle +was midway between these islands, they were both visible from the +masthead. In the night, and during the early part of next day, it blew +strong from south-east, causing a high-topping sea. Time being precious, +we could not wait for a quiet day to land on Bedout; its position was +therefore determined by observations with the sea horizon, and differs +very materially from that given by the French. + +We weighed early in the afternoon of the 15th, and passed round the +north-west end of Bedout, where there is much uneven ground with +ripplings. We carried soundings until abreast of the north end of Rowley +Shoals and twenty-five miles from their inner side, in from 45 to 154 +fathoms. These shoals, like the Abrolhos, appear to stand on the outer +edge of a bank projecting off this portion of the coast, as we did not +get bottom after leaving their parallel. + +On the 20th, in the afternoon, we passed, having no soundings with 200 +fathoms, along the western side of Scott's Reef, at the distance of three +miles, and determined its position. It forms a large lagoon, with an +opening, not appearing to be a ship passage, midway on its western side; +marked by a dry bank just within it, in latitude 14 degrees 3 minutes 30 +seconds South and longitude 6 degrees 4 minutes 45 seconds East of Swan +River. The eastern extreme of the reef was not seen; the southern limit +is in latitude 14 degrees 15 minutes South; and the north-west extreme +being in 13 degrees 55 minutes South, and longitude 6 degrees 2 minutes +East of Swan River, gives it an extent of twenty miles in a north and +south direction. + +SCOTT'S REEF. + +Captain Owen Stanley, in March, 1840, discovered a shoal about sixteen +miles to the North-North-East of Scott's Reef; he considered its extent +from east to west to be about five miles; but from the masthead the south +end of it could not be seen. It did not appear to have more than two or +three feet water on it. The north point, Captain Stanley places in +latitude 13 degrees 39 minutes South, longitude 121 degrees 56 minutes +East; or 6 degrees 11 minutes East of Swan River.* + +(*Footnote. This reef was seen by the Seringapatam merchant ship in +1842.) + +We now began to feel a westerly current, which increased to a knot and a +half as we got near Rottee; the winds being moderate, between East and +East-South-East. + +PULO DOUW. + +July 23. + +The weather was hazy: the high land of Rottee was seen in the forenoon, +the highest part of the island, a rather pointed hill, bearing North 60 +degrees East. At 1 P.M. we saw Pulo Douw, which we endeavoured to +weather, but the current prevented us. It is a remarkable island, with a +gap in the centre and a clump of trees, that looks like a sail when first +seen, on the north-west end, which terminates in a low sandy point. This +is also the case with the south-east extreme, off which a reef extends +for about half a mile; indeed, there appeared to be no ship passage +between the sandy islets that lie to the east of Pulo Douw and Rottee. We +rounded the north-west end of the former at the distance of a mile and a +half, passing through some heavy ripplings, apparently an eddy setting to +the north-east round the island. Pulo Douw appeared to be thickly +inhabited, and was encircled by a reef, except at its North-North-West +point, where there is a cliffy projection. Angles were taken for fixing +the position of the islets between Pulo Douw and Rottee, which we found +to be wrongly placed. The Scotch Bonnet, a remarkable rocky lump, seen +over the south-west end of Rottee, and in line with the south side of +Pulo Douw, bore South 60 degrees East. During the night we had a fresh +wind from East-South-East and sailed through several ripplings, our first +entering suddenly upon which caused some anxiety, though the lead gave no +bottom with 60 and 70 fathoms. We passed some distance from the western +end of Samow Island in the morning; but the high peaks of Timor were not +seen till near noon. The eager eyes of the native whom we had brought +with us from Swan River were the first to descry them; and he exclaimed +in tones of rapturous astonishment, "Land! big fella! all the same +cloud!" I shall not easily forget the amazement of this savage, +accustomed as he was to behold the level plains of his native land, when +he saw, towering in alpine grandeur to the sky, the pinnacled heights of +Timor. He seemed scarcely able to conceive, even when assured by the +evidence of his own senses, that it was possible for mountains to be so +high and ranges so vast as those that now developed themselves before +him. + +REACH TIMOR. + +In crossing the mouth of Coepang Bay towards Samow, in the evening, the +appearance was truly grand. A vast heap of vapour was slowly moving +across the mountains, disclosing at intervals their jagged summits +towering towards the sky, and occasionally allowing the eye to penetrate +for a moment into the depths of mysterious valleys that seemed to stretch +for unknown distances into the recesses of the great Timoree Range. Some +wild flying clouds that rapidly traversed the heavens imparted a curious +alternation of light and shadow to the lowlands that presented themselves +to our view--chequering the whole with gloomy patches and light spots, +and revealing or hiding in rapid succession the extensive woods and the +patches of cultivation that lay within the bosom of the Bay. The dazzling +white sand beaches, too, strongly marked by the dark blue sea, heightened +the beauty of the scene; which to us, who had for some months seen +nothing but the monotonous north-west coast of Australia, appeared truly +enchanting. + +During the first watch we beat up the bay, and at midnight anchored; the +barking of dogs, the crowing of cocks, and the tolling of bells assuring +us that we were once again in the vicinity of civilization. In the +morning we found ourselves off the town of Coepang, when we shifted our +berth farther in; the flagstaff of Fort Concordia bearing south a quarter +of a mile. + +SWAN RIVER NATIVE. + +Our Swan River native came up to me after we had anchored, dressed in his +best, shoes polished, and buttoned up to the chin in an old uniform +jacket. "Look," said he, pointing to some Malay lads alongside in a +canoe, "trousers no got 'um." A toss of the head supplied what was +wanting to the completeness of this speech, and said as plainly as words +could have done, "poor wretches!" I tried in vain to point out their +superiority, by saying, "Malay boy, work, have house; Swan River boy, no +work, bush walk." I then drew his attention to the country, the delicious +fruits and other good things to eat (knowing that the surest road to an +Australian's heart is through his mouth) but all was in vain! my simple +friend shook his head, saying, "No good, stone, rock big fella, too much, +can't walk." Home, after all, is home all the world over, and the dull +arid shores of Australia were more beautiful in the eyes of this savage +than the romantic scenery of Timor, which excited in him wonder not +delight. It was amusing to see how frightened he was on going ashore the +first time. With difficulty could he be kept from treading on our heels, +always, I suppose, being in the habit, in his own country, of finding +strangers to be enemies. He was instantly recognised by the Malays, who +had occasionally seen natives of Australia returning with the Macassar +proas from the north coast, as a marega,* much to his annoyance. + +(*Footnote. I have never been able to learn the meaning of this word. +They told us at Coepang it signified man-eater; which explains the +native's annoyance; and may serve as a clue to the discovery that the +aborigines of the northern part of the continent occasionally eat human +bodies as they do in the south.) + +LAND AT COEPANG. + +Being anxious to make the acquaintance of the Resident, who bore the +reputation of being a most intelligent person, a party of us paid him a +visit the second day after our arrival. The narrow streets, lined with +Chinese shops and pedlars of every description, from the long-tailed +Chinaman to the thick, crisp-haired, athletic Timoree, were soon passed. +We then entered a rich green valley, with some fine houses on the left: +the sight was strange and new to us in every way. What we most enjoyed +was the vegetation--a feast for our eyes, after the dull arid shores of +North-western Australia: and we gazed with intense pleasure on the rich +green spreading leaf of the banana and other tropical fruit-trees, above +which towered, the graceful coconut. Is it possible, thought I, that +Timor and Australia, so different in the character of their scenery, can +be such near neighbours, that these luxuriant valleys, nestling among the +roots of these gigantic hills, are only separated by a narrow expanse of +sea from those shores over which nature has strewed, with so niggard a +hand, a soil capable of bearing the productions characteristic of the +latitudes within which they lie? + +A meagre-looking apology for a soldier, leaning against a tree, suggested +to us that we must be near the Resident's dwelling: we were so. It soon +appeared that it was the last of the large houses before mentioned, and +that the soldier was the sentinel. + +VISIT THE RESIDENT. + +We were speedily ushered into the presence of D.T. Vanden Dungen +Gronovius. What sort of person, reader, do you picture to yourself with +such a name? Great of course; and in truth such was he, not only in +height and bulk, but as he soon informed us, in deeds likewise; he talked +fast, and smoked faster, and possessed a general knowledge of all the +recent discoveries. We learned from him that the Zelee and Astrolabe were +laid on their beam ends for twenty-four hours in the hurricane of last +November, when the Pelorus was lost at Port Essington. After listening to +some strange and amusing stories about Borneo, where the Resident had +been Superintendent for twelve years, we took our leave. I was glad to +find that Mr. Gronovius entertained views more liberal than Dutchmen +generally do. He had, as he told me, written to the Governor-General at +Batavia, requesting that Coepang might be made a free port, and +emigration allowed. He most kindly offered us horses and guides for +riding or shooting. + +FORT CONCORDIA. + +The observations for latitude, longitude, etc. were made in Fort +Concordia,* near the flagstaff. I was surprised to find this fort so much +out of repair; the only guns fit to be fired out of were two brass +six-pounders, the carriages indeed of which were not trustworthy. On +these guns I noticed the same mark as on that we found at Houtman's +Abrolhos, namely, two sides of a triangle bisecting two small circles. I +never see an old fort without thinking of the anecdote of a party from +the Beagle visiting one at Valdivia on the west coast of South America. +The guns were very much out of repair, and when the remark was made to +the old Spaniard who showed the fort, that they would not bear to be +fired out of ONCE, with a shrug of his shoulders he replied that he +thought they would bear it TWICE! But to return to Fort Concordia: it +stands on a madreporic rocky eminence, about 60 feet in elevation, +commanding the straggling town of Coepang, which, certainly, from the +anchorage** does not impress the stranger with a favourable opinion of +the industry of its inhabitants, though it improves in proportion as you +retreat from the beach. The foot of the height on which the fort stands +is washed by a small rapid stream that skirts the south side of the town. +Its course from the eastward is marked by a deep gorge, on the sides of +which a stranger might feast his eyes on the riches of tropical scenery. +Here and there above the mass of humbler vegetation, a lofty tapering +coconut tree would rear its graceful form, bowing gently in the passing +breeze. On every hill was presented the contrast of redundant natural +verdure, clothing its sides and summit, and of cultivated fields along +the lower slopes. These by irrigation are turned into paddy plantations, +the winds blowing over which give rise to those insidious fevers, +intermittent, I am told, in their character, which are so prevalent at +Coepang, as well as dysentery, from which indeed the crew of the Beagle +afterwards suffered. + +(*Footnote. Latitude 10 degrees 10 minutes 11 seconds South, and +longitude 9 degrees 50 minutes 00 seconds West of Swan River.) + +(**Footnote. See the view annexed.) + +DUTCH MILITARY FORCE. + +The whole force the Dutch have at Coepang is sixty soldiers, half of +whom, too, are Javanese. Yet the subjection in which this small force +keeps the natives, is beyond belief. A sergeant is the commandant at +Rottee, and such power has he over the inhabitants, that he can at any +time raise a thousand armed men in the course of a few hours. Many of the +largest ponies used at Coepang, are brought from Rottee. Their origin no +one could give me any information about; all agree in saying they were +found with the island, and the natives have no traditions. + +THE RESIDENT'S TALES. + +My second visit to the Resident was for the purpose of accepting his +offer of a guide, and of making arrangements for a day's shooting. I +found him as usual, sitting smoking in a large cool room. We were soon in +the interior of Borneo, the scene of his former exploits. Some of these +were of so sanguinary a character, that they do him very little credit; +and many of his tales partook of the marvellous. Among the Dyaks, natives +of the interior, it is a custom, he said, that when a man wishes to +marry, he must produce a certain number of human heads. He related that +he had once seen a very handsome young woman, to whom a number of heads +had been delivered, swimming about in some water, and playing with them. +At another time he averred that he saw a woman mix human brains with +water and drink it! Mr. Gronovius also informed me that the land on the +western sides both of Timor and Borneo was gaining on the sea, +particularly at the latter place; and a report prevailed that on some of +the elevated parts of the former chama shells had been found. In answer +to my inquiries about earthquakes, I was told that, only the last month +the island of Ternate in 0 degrees 50 minutes North had been visited by +one, which had thrown down all the houses, and that in 1690, the town of +Coepang had also been destroyed. From the Resident also, I received +accounts of three ports in Rottee, one on the north-west side, another on +the south-east, and a third, on the north-east, opening into Rottee +Strait. + +THE TIMOREES. + +Among the fresh information gained from Mr. Gronovius during this visit, +was an account of the natives of Timor called Timorees. They are very +superstitious, and when a person of consequence dies, a number of +karabows (buffaloes) pigs, and ponies are killed and placed over his +grave, as an offering to the evil spirit. Some, in case of sickness, +imagine, that by eating a whole buffalo, even the horns and hoofs, by +degrees, they can appease the anger of the demon to whom they attribute +all their misfortunes. + +Many of the Timorees have really handsome features, strikingly different +from the Malays. Their hair, which is neither woolly nor straight, but +crisp, and full of small waves, is worn long behind, and kept together by +a curiously formed comb. There is altogether a degree of wildness in +their appearance that ill accords with their situation; for nearly all +the Timorees in Coepang are slaves sold by the Rajahs of the different +districts, the value of a young man being fifty pounds. + +A powerful Rajah, commonly called the Emperor of Timor, visited Coepang +during our stay there. Unfortunately we all missed seeing him. He was +attended by a large and well-armed guard, and appeared to be on very good +terms with the merchants of the place, who made him several presents, no +doubt through interested motives; probably he supplies them with slaves. +His character is notoriously bad; it was only the other day that he had +one of his wives cut to pieces, for some very trifling offence. + +A SHOOTING EXCURSION. + +On taking my leave of the Resident, I fixed the day for our shooting +excursion. We were to go to a place called Pritie, on the northern shore +of Babao Bay, and distant some fifteen miles from the ship, which +rendered it necessary therefore to make an early start. + +Daylight on Monday morning accordingly found us on the northern shore of +the bay, but we soon ascertained that our guide knew very little about +the matter; and what was still worse, there was no getting near the +shore, a bank of soft mud fronting it for some distance, at this time of +tide, and particularly in the vague direction our guide gave us of +Pritie. The day was fast advancing; so we made our way back to a cliffy +projection we had passed before light, where, after some difficulty, we +got on shore. Whilst the breakfast was cooking, I made a sketch of the +bay, and took a round of angles, all the charts and plans I had seen +being very erroneous. + +Our guide appeared to take our not going to Pritie greatly to heart; but +we made the best of our way to some clear spots on the side of the high +land seen from the boat. We met a few natives, who all agreed there were +plenty of deer close by, which we believed, for we saw numbers of very +recent tracks. But the jungle was impenetrable; so, after rambling for an +hour or two, at the expense of nearly tearing the clothes off our backs, +and emulating the folly of the wise man of Thessaly, we again determined +to make for Pritie, or at least to try and find it. The tide too now +served, and after a pull of some hours, carefully examining every creek +and bight, we spied at length two canoes hauled up among a patch of +mangroves. Landing, we soon found some houses, and a person to show us +the road to Pritie; for we had still a walk of three miles across a well +watered flat piece of country. We were highly pleased with this, to us, +novel sight; and our enjoyment was heightened by beholding the tricks and +grimaces of some impudent monkeys perched on the tops of the lofty trees, +out of shot range, and too nimble to be hit with a ball. + +VALE OF PRITIE. + +We at last reached our destination, on the eastern side of a beautiful +stream. Immediately to the northward some lofty peaks reared their rugged +summits in an amphitheatre round the rich and picturesque vale of Pritie, +which lay at the feet of their varied slopes, one mass of tropical +vegetation. Trees of enormous height shot up by the waterside, and +between them, as we approached, the little sharp-roofed houses of the +village of Pritie could be seen scattered here and there amidst their +gardens. + +Our old guide, who had by this time recovered his serenity of mind, led +us direct to the Commandant, a mild and very civil old Javanese, to whom +orders had been sent by the Resident at Coepang to show us every +attention. His room was adorned by a magnificent pair of antlers which, +we were rejoiced to hear, had been lately taken from a deer shot within a +hundred yards of the house. After a repast of young coconuts, and gula, a +kind of honey; it was arranged that a party should be collected to go +with us on the morrow to shoot deer and pigs. + +Our host now took us to see the village, and then conducted us to the +house we were to occupy during our sojourn at Pritie, which was a large +homely-built edifice erected for the Resident's use when he visits this +neighbourhood. We spent the dusk of the evening in pigeon-shooting, but +did not meet with much success; for the birds perched for the most part +on the summits of trees so lofty that they were quite out of shot-range. +Many of these giants of the forest must have attained the height of at +least two hundred feet. They formed a grand element in the landscape, +especially when their huge trunks rose by the side of the limpid water of +the stream that intersects the vale of Pritie. Between their topmost +boughs, to the north, the amphitheatre of hills which I have mentioned +lifted up their indistinct forms, round which the shades of night were +gathering, towards the heavens, that soon began to glisten with a +multitude of faint stars. + +EVENING REPAST. + +By the time we got within doors, after our unsuccessful stroll, we were +quite tired, and well prepared to enjoy our dinner. The dignified air +assumed by our guide, evidently for the purpose of showing off, and the +ostentatious liberality with which he proffered the goodly viands sent by +the commandant, amused us highly. An account of our fare may be +acceptable to the gastronomic reader, who will thus be enabled to +determine whether he should envy or pity the voyager to the distant +shores of Timor. First came tea and coffee; then, in the course of an +hour, followed fowls, cooked in all sorts of ways, with a proportion of +rice. The good things were brought in by a train of domestics some fifty +yards long, headed by a paunchy, elderly man, who greatly reminded us of +Caleb Balderston. If there was a word said by any of the lookers-on--for +many came to have a gaze at the lions--he was out in a moment, and +brought the offender to account. In short, by his officious attention he +afforded us much amusement, and greatly contributed to our proper +enjoyment of the dinner. Our candles were original ones--a few threads of +cotton drawn through a roll of bees' wax. + +Dinner being over, we retired to pass as cold a night as we had felt for +some time, having only a few coarse mats to cover us; so that long before +daylight we were obliged to get up and walk about for the purpose of +warming ourselves. The first of the morning we spent again +pigeon-shooting; the birds were large and wild, yet we managed to get a +few. + +THE HILLS IN A MIST. + +This excursion gave us an opportunity of beholding the mountains of Timor +under a remarkable aspect. From various openings in the woody plain we +could perceive their sides, clothed in grey mist, above which sometimes +we caught a glimpse of a pinnacle rising through the clear air, and just +touched by the rays of the morning sun. Here and there the slopes of the +hills were dimly seen through the vapour, which in other places, however, +rolled along in thick masses, completely hiding the uplands from view. +Nearly every gorge and valley was filled with heavy volumes of fog, +whilst in some, a slight steam only rising, allowed the trees to be +faintly discovered. There is nothing more grand than the aspect of lofty +peaks and crags and precipices imperfectly revealed through a morning +mist. It seems as though the darkness of night, unwilling to depart, +lingers still fondly around them. Their hollows and recesses are still +wrapt in gloom, when all else around is beaming with light. Within the +tropics the contrast thus afforded has a startling effect; but the +influence of the sun is not long to be resisted; the mist soon begins to +disperse; valley after valley opens its depths to the view; the outline +of each rocky peak becomes more and more defined against the deep blue +sky, and presently the whole scene appears before you clear and bright, +with every line sharply drawn, every patch of colour properly +discriminated, a splendid panorama of towering hills and waving forests. + +Whilst I was gazing at this picture, the report of a fowling piece behind +me drew my attention, and on turning I was surprised to see the old +commandant out shooting likewise, and with him no less a person than +Caleb Balderston, as we had christened his faithful domestic. In their +company we returned to Pritie. + +MUSTER OF THE PARTY. + +Soon after breakfast our party began to muster, each man armed with a +long-condemned Tower musket. On one of them I was surprised to recognize +the name of a marine who had belonged to the Beagle in 1827. The powder +they used was of the coarsest kind, carried in small pieces of bamboo, +each containing a charge, and fitted in a case of skin, something like +our cartouch boxes. As a substitute for balls they used BOLTS OF STONE, +from two to three inches long. Besides a musket, each had a huge knife or +chopper, stuck in his belt. I was much struck with the simple contrivance +they had for shoes: a piece of the fan palm plaited together and tied +under the foot. The number of uses to which this tree is applied is +astonishing--for making water-buckets, for thatching houses, filling up +the panel-work of doors, and a variety of others I could mention. + +It was late before we could muster all our force; but we at length got +away, commandant and all. I was much pleased with the respect everyone +paid him, especially as he was one of those mild kind persons who require +very little. Soon after leaving the village we halted in a shady spot, +near a stream of water, some of our party being still missing. This gave +me a good opportunity of comparing the features of the Malay and Timoree, +for some of both were in attendance. The Malay has a much more open +countenance than the Timoree, but is not so handsome, the latter having a +more aquiline nose. + +THE SHOOTING ARRANGEMENTS. + +When they all arrived I counted fifty armed men. There were some whose +grey hairs proclaimed their lengthened years; though there was a keenness +in their eyes that revealed that the principle of vitality was strong +within them yet; in others all the dash and vigour of youth was +perceptible; many had a truly wild appearance, with their long bushy hair +and ever restless eye. It was a picturesque sight to behold fifty such +fine fellows scattered about in small groups in the deep shade of these +solitudes. + +All the necessary arrangements being made, we once more started. An +hour's walk brought us to a rather large plain, where I and my companions +were stationed, about a hundred yards asunder, whilst the rest of the +party formed a circle, driving all the game in our direction. +Unfortunately those on the left commenced hallooing before those on the +right, in which latter direction the only three deer in the circle ran +from the noise, instead of towards us. Two of them were shot, and by the +stone bolts above mentioned. We now went to fresh ground, when, provoking +to say, the same thing happened again, not without our suspicions being +raised that this was purposely contrived; so that after all we were +obliged to leave without a single shot. Each deer, the largest of which, +a doe, must have weighed a hundred pounds, was shot STANDING, for the +natives have a peculiar cry, which arrests the animal's progress for a +moment, while they fire. + +THE JAVANESE COMMANDANT. + +The deer were all brought up to the commandant, who begged our acceptance +of them. We thanked him, and took the two smallest. By the time we +reached Pritie they were skinned and hung up, ready to be put into the +boats. The persons who had shot them had received their stone bolts again +very little injured; the hole they make is enormous. We rewarded these +people; but to the commandant we were really at a loss how to express our +obligations. At length we thought of giving him some powder and shot, +which was a present he seemed right glad to receive. I afterwards learnt +the history of this excellent old Javanese, and was surprised and grieved +to hear that a person so universally esteemed had been banished from Java +and his family for some trifling political offence. His property was sold +to purchase his freedom, and the proceeds were entrusted to the captain +of a ship, who ran off with the whole, thus at once ruining a most worthy +family, and reducing my good friend the commandant to the necessity of +remaining in exile. I was glad to hear, on my second visit to Timor, that +he was still alive and well, though without any prospect of an +alleviation to his condition. + +Wishing him farewell, we left Pritie with some regret. By dark we had +crossed Babao Bay, and reached the ship at half-past eight. It may be as +well to mention that, looking from Coepang, the valley of Pritie is +situated immediately under Timor Peak, the highest over the northern +shore of Babao Bay. A small hut, on a projecting shingle point, close to +the westward, marks the landing place, where several canoes are generally +to be seen hauled up. At high tide a boat can get in; but, as we have +already said, there is a long mud flat at low-water. + +THE TIMOREES. + +The Timorees do not bear the character of being very industrious; the +small portion of land they cultivate is turned up in the following +manner: a slight fence is placed round the part required for the purposes +of agriculture and a drove of bullocks is driven furiously backwards and +forwards over it; which very much resembles the mode adopted for +thrashing corn in some parts of South America. + +The Rajahs of the western portion of Timor receive their appointment from +the Resident at Coepang; and their installation I am told is rather a +grand affair. Nearly all the Timorees speak Malay, a soft +pleasant-sounding tongue, apparently easy to be acquired; but there were +few of the Coepang people that spoke the native language. Some of the +Timor customs are singular: if a woman, for example, dies in childbirth, +she is buried on the spot where she breathes her last. + +DUTCH SETTLEMENT IN NEW GUINEA. + +During our stay at Coepang I met the doctor of the Dutch settlement at +Triton Bay, on the west coast of New Guinea. He gave me a very poor +account of the inhabitants. The Dutch settlers, he says, can scarcely +venture out of the fort; as the natives have bows and arrows, as well as +muskets, with which they are excellent marksmen. Their firearms they +obtain in exchange for birds of paradise, tortoise-shell and birds-nests, +from vessels from the Arru, and other islands in the Eastern Archipelago. +When a vessel arrives on the coast they flock down from the interior to +trade, which cannot be done without an interpreter. It is even then +attended with great risk, owing to the extreme treachery of the natives. +Knives, stained blue, and cotton goods are in great request; but, +although they of aware of the superiority of Europeans, they will not on +any account allow them to live in their country. The inhabitants, +however, are better disposed on the shores of Great Bay, a deep +indentation on the north-east side of the island, where great quantities +of nutmeg grow. + +On the 5th the Mangles arrived from Sydney by the outer route through +Torres Strait, having lost all her anchors, and been nearly wrecked in a +south-east gale near Halfway Island. She was commanded by the same +master, Mr. Carr, to whom I have before alluded as having given the first +information concerning the survivors of the crew of the Charles Eaton. + +ISLAND OF ROTTEE. + +The next afternoon we weighed, and the following morning anchored, the +water being deep, close in near Tykale Inlet, on the south-west side of +Rottee, for observations,* and for the purpose of better determining the +position of Pulo Douw, and the other islands in its neighbourhood. + +(*Footnote. They placed the south point of the inlet in latitude 10 +degrees 46 minutes 18 seconds South and longitude 0 degrees 43 minutes 50 +seconds West of Coepang.) + +An extensive coral flat fronts this part of Rottee, connecting it with +the small islands lying off it. + +We got from the natives some shells of a kind of small green mussel of a +very peculiar shape. The old men from whom I got them was making a meal +from some rare shell-fish. He did not understand the value of money; and, +strange to say, not a word of the Malay language. The same was the case +with all his companions. At the part of Samow I visited the people all +understood it, which is very remarkable, as only a narrow strait +separates the islands. In this state of ignorance they may perhaps be +purposely kept. + +I here recognised several Australian shrubs and palms. The rock of which +this port of Rottee is formed appeared of a madreporic nature, scattered +about in huge blocks. At a little distance from the water it formed low +broken cliffs from twenty to thirty feet in length; these were everywhere +undermined by the sea, from which the land here was evidently emerging. I +noticed several deserted huts and broken walls or fences, which bore the +appearance of having had much labour bestowed on them at some time or +other. They added much to the lonely appearance of the place, for there +is nothing that imparts so great an air of desolation to a scene as the +signs that it has once been inhabited by man. Tracts which have never +before been trodden by human foot may be gazed on with pleasurable +emotions; but there are always melancholy associations connected with a +spot which our fellow-creatures have once inhabited and abandoned. + +The natives we saw belonged to the southern side of Tykale Inlet. They +were occupied in looking after some weirs, from the size and number of +which it would appear that they chiefly live on fish. + +JEWELLERS OF PULO DOUW. + +The inhabitants of Pulo Douw are a small wandering tribe from Savu, +chiefly jewellers, as the Resident at Coepang informed me. It is a +strange place for them to take up their abode in; perhaps they do not +like the idea of living under a Rajah. They are, I believe, beautiful +workmen; but with them all is not gold that glitters. There are plenty of +coconuts in the island, but little water; the landing at all times is +bad. + +When at Coepang we saw some specimens of the gold, collected after heavy +rains from the washings of the hills, and brought down for barter to the +merchants in grains enclosed in small lengths of bamboo, containing each +from six to eighteen drams. Thirty miles south-west of Diely, also, are +some mines of virgin copper. + + + +CHAPTER 2.6. + +Sail from Rottee. +Search for shoal. +Dampier's Archipelago. +Examination of coast. +Strange weather. +Natives. +Passage between Delambre and Huiy Islands. +Proceed to Montebello Isles. +Description of them. +Barrow's Island. +Tryal Rocks. +New kangaroo. +Abundance of turtle. +New wallaby. +Sail for Swan River. +Find Ritchie's Reef. +Islands between Barrow's and North-West Cape. +Table of soundings. +Swan River Native. +Anchor under Rottnest. +Vocabulary. +Erect beacons. +Bad weather. +Habits of a native dog. +Geological observations. +Sail from Swan River. +Error in position of Cape Naturaliste. +King George's Sound. +Appearance of Bald Head. +Princess Royal Harbour. +Origin of settlement. +Town of Albany. +Salubrity of climate. +Excursion into interior. +Course a kangaroo. +Pitfalls. +Herds of kangaroos. +Rich country. +The Hay River. +Return to Albany. +Departure for South Australia. +Discover an Island. +Death of a seaman. +Position of Neptune Isles. +Kangaroo, Althorp and Quoin Islands. +Holdfast Road. +Adelaide. +Description of country. +Governor Gawler's policy. +Visit the Port. +Mr. Eyre's expedition. +Hardships of Overlanders. +Cannibalism. +Meet Captain Sturt. +Native schools. +System of education. +Sail for Sydney. +Squalls. +Error in coast. +Bass Strait. +Arrive at Sydney. + +Leaving Rottee we passed, soon after dark, round the western end of Pulo +Douw, and stood for the position of a shoal reported by Mr. Lewis of the +Colonial schooner, Isabella, to be in latitude 14 degrees 43 minutes +South, and longitude 119 degrees 20 minutes East. Our inducement to +search for this shoal was the fact of its being supposed to lie in the +direct route of vessels sailing between Timor and the West coast of +Australia. But after searching from the 9th to the 14th, and sounding +repeatedly without getting bottom, we came to the conclusion that it did +not exist. Breakers could have been seen at least ten miles from the +Beagle's masthead, as there was a considerable swell from the south-west. + +LIGHT WINDS. + +On the 15th we were in latitude 16 degrees 05 minutes South and longitude +118 degrees 16 minutes East. After one of those stagnant calms so +frequently met with near the equator, we got a light westerly breeze on +the morning of the 18th. Towards midnight it freshened, veering from +South-West by South to West-South-West with some rather sharp rain +squalls. It appears that the westerly winds had already set in, and that +the calm we experienced on the 17th was an unoccupied space between the +easterly and westerly winds. There are few parts of the globe where light +winds prevail so much as on the North-west coast of New Holland, +particularly between the latitudes of 13 and 17 degrees, and from one to +two hundred miles from the land. They are, however, excepting in the +months of January, February, and March, from the eastward, south-east in +the morning and east in the afternoon. These winds prevented us from +making the coast on the eastward of Depuch Island; and as we had failed +in getting a supply of provisions at Timor, we were compelled to +relinquish the plan of continuing the examination of that part of the +coast between the Turtle Islands and Roebuck Bay. + +BEZOUT ISLAND. + +The Beagle was consequently anchored under Bezout Island, one of the +eastern isles of Dampier's Archipelago, and boats were sent to examine +the coast on the southward of Cape Lambert. + +It may, perhaps, be worthy of remark, that should a vessel be brought by +any chance to this dreary part of the world in May, June, or July, +anchorages exposed to easterly winds should be left at or before +daylight--that being the time they set in; by noon all is again quiet. +Bezout Island is of the same formation as Depuch; and so are many of the +broken ridges, with bare stony summits, of a dark brown hue, on the main +near Cape Lambert, trending South-South-West. A more dreary sterile +country can scarcely be seen; yet it still maintains inhabitants. + +August 26. + +The weather has been truly strange for the last four days. The winds, +instead of being easterly have been from South-west to North-west, light +with the former during the mornings, and moderate with the latter in the +evenings. On this day they were from all quarters, with distant thunder +in the north-west, and several rain squalls. In the night it settled at +east, a fresh breeze bringing with it fine weather. In connection with +our former remarks on striking vicissitudes in the weather occurring near +the change of the moon, we should mention that it was new moon the day +following. + +The material for the chart collected in this part consists of the main +from below Picard Island to nearly twenty miles west of Cape Lambert, +with the neighbouring islands, an extent of nearly forty-five miles. The +part near Picard Island was carefully examined by Mr. Forsyth. He +reported the main to the South-South-West of that island, forming the +head of the bay between Cape Lambert and Depuch, to be extensive flats of +mud and sand, over which the sea sometimes passed. Between Picard and +Cape Lambert the shore is cut up by mangrove creeks. On a hill up one of +these, several small kangaroos were seen. Near the Cape Mr. Forsyth +perceived twenty-seven natives, seven of whom were children, in one +party. + +DELAMBRE ISLAND. + +On the 27th we crossed over to Delambre Island, on which a large party +landed in the afternoon. A few turtle were here taken, of a different +kind from any we had seen before, and apparently a cross between the +Hawk's Bill and the Green Turtle; several nests were also found, in one +of which were 138 eggs. This island terminates, like Bezout Island, to +the northward, in cliffs about 90 feet high, with deep water close to; on +the east and west sides it is fronted by a reef nearly a mile in extent; +but we could see no traces of those lying three miles to the +North-North-West of the North-West point, laid down by Captain King. The +passage between Huiy Island and Delambre is five miles wide, though clear +for two miles only, and in working out we found that it had a very uneven +bottom, over which a two-knot tide causes heavy ripplings. We noticed +that a hill, lying nine miles to the south-west of Bezout Island, called +in the chart Round-backed Hill, bearing between South 5 degrees East, and +South 15 degrees East, clears the reefs on either side the channel; and +that the same hill bearing South 24 degrees West leads between Bezout and +Delambre, and South 8 degrees West clears the reef off the eastern side +of the latter. + +THE MONTEBELLO GROUP. + +From Delambre we proceeded to the Montebello Islands, principally in +order to set at rest two points of great interest, namely, the position +of Ritchie's Reef, and of the long lost Tryal Rocks. On the 31st, in the +afternoon, we anchored in 6 fathoms on the eastern side of Tremouille +Island, a cliffy islet off the south-east end of which bore South 42 +degrees East two miles. The tide was ebbing and setting to the +North-North-East two knots an hour. We found the Montebello Group to be +confined by a coral reef encircling it. The two principal islands are +Tremouille and Hermite Islands. The fact that these and their neighbours +are not separated in the charts fully evinced the necessity of our visit. +Leaving a boat to examine them, the ship proceeded towards the northern +end of Barrow's Island, being anxious to avoid the southerly winds to +which the anchorage off Tremouille is exposed. These usually commenced at +midnight, blowing from south-west, freshening and veering to south by 8 +A.M., and by about 10 moderating at South-South-East. On our way to +Barrow's Island they were so violent as to cause the ship to drive with +two anchors ahead, there appearing to be no holding ground, but simply a +coating of sand over a rocky ledge. During the prevalence of these winds +the temperature varied from 66 to 76 degrees. + +Near Barrow's Island, on our passage, I shot (from the quarter-boat) the +largest sea-snake ever killed. It is figured and described in the +Appendix, by Mr. J.E. Gray, as Hydrus major, and measured eight feet one +inch in length, by three inches broad; the colour was a dark yellow: +several smaller ones striped brown and white were also seen. + +BARROW'S ISLAND. + +We found that from the Montebello Group a long series of reefs and small +islands, the largest and most central of which is called Lowendal, +extends towards Barrow's Island, leaving a winding channel* along the +north side of the latter. Near the centre of the western side of the reef +is a cluster which proved to be the long-lost Tryal Rocks; the middle and +largest of which is in latitude 20 degrees 35 minutes South and longitude +0 degrees 17 minutes West of Swan River.** The reef continues along the +eastern side of Barrow's Island, extending off three miles; our anchorage +was consequently little more than that distance from the shore. We +examined the northern and eastern sides; the former is composed of red +sandstone cliffy projections, separated by sandy bays, fronted for nearly +two miles by a coral reef, partly dry at low-water; but the south part of +the eastern side becomes very low; and where the cliffs end there is a +remarkable valley trending westwards. There were recent marks of the sea +many feet above the ordinary reach of the tides, bespeaking occasional +strong south-east winds. A number of stony-topped hills, from 150 to 200 +feet in height, were scattered over the northern parts of the island. In +the valleys was a little sandy soil, nourishing the spinifex, and a +stunted kind of wood sufficiently large for fuel. + +(*Footnote. Lowendal Island, bearing east, leads into it.) + +(**Footnote. We recognised them from a sketch furnished by the Admiralty, +and made in 1719 by a Dutch sloop sent in search of them from Batavia. +They placed them eight degrees west from the coast of New Holland. If we +take leagues instead of degrees it would bring them near their actual +distance from the shore. Van Keulen says they were seen in the ship +Vaderland Getrouw, and found to be in 20 degrees 30 seconds south. In +1777 they were seen by Captain Joss, of the Danish ship Frederisberg +Castel, who places them in 20 degrees 40 minutes South. It was by his +description that I recognised them beyond a doubt, although his longitude +would place them thirteen degrees more to the westward, and near the +position they have occupied for years in the charts. The centre of them +bears North by East five miles and a quarter from Cape Dupuis, the +north-west point of Barrow's Island.) + +NEW KANGAROO. + +We found a new kind of kangaroo and wallaby on Barrow's Island; but the +only specimen obtained of the former was destroyed through the neglect of +the person in whose charge it was left. It was a buck, weighing fifty +pounds, of a cinnamon colour on the back and a dirty white on the belly; +the hair was fine and long; the head of a peculiar shape, resembling a +dog's, with a very blunt nose; the forearms were very short; the hind +feet cushioned like those inhabiting rocky ground. The does appeared to +be much lighter; but all were very wary and scarce. From the number of +red sandhills, too, scattered over the island, they were difficult to be +seen at a distance. From our description of this specimen it has been +named Osphranter isabellinus. With the wallaby we were more fortunate, +Mr. Bynoe and myself succeeding in knocking over four, weighing from five +to eight pounds; they also had blunt noses, and were of a light brown +colour, quite different from those on the Abrolhos. + +Two iguanas, measuring seven feet in length, and nearly black, striped +slightly with white, were also killed here. + +We did not find any surface water; everything wore a dry parched +appearance. No traces of natives were discovered, except some charred +pieces of wood. Indeed I may remark that we saw signs of fire on every +part of the continent we visited. From the south extremity of the island +a long reef trended in the direction of the mainland, where Captain King +traced it extending off some distance, thus connecting with the shore the +whole of these islands, which seem to lie in a line with each other, like +the various parts of a submerged piece of land. The small isles, +especially between the Montebello Group and Barrow's Island, have all the +same direction; so that it seems fair to conclude that they were once a +part of the main, being in fact fragments of a promontory, forming a gulf +similar to Exmouth Gulf, lying on the south-west of it. I had been led to +expect this from the fact of our finding the flood-stream coming from the +north-east, whereas the direction of it in the offing is +North-North-West. + +SUPPLY OF TURTLES. + +Barrow's Island, being about twelve miles broad and twenty long, would, +in the event of a penal settlement being formed in this neighbourhood, +make a good second Norfolk Island. On leaving we brought away with us +seven tons of turtles from the abundant supplies its shores afforded. +Many of them we gave to our friends at Swan River on our arrival. We +cannot quit this island without reminding our readers that it was named +after the distinguished Secretary to the Admiralty, who has just retired +from office after a period of service of nearly half a century, during +which time he was the promoter of all geographical research, and mainly +instrumental in founding a society which is of growing importance to +Great Britain, and who has established a lasting reputation both by his +travels and his literary productions. + +On our return to Tremouille Island Mr. Fitzmaurice joined us, having +completed the examination of the Montebello Group, a large proportion of +chart material, in a very short space of time, considering the number of +small islands, which would render it an endless labour to attempt any +description, further than that they lie something in the shape of a +scythe. + +RITCHIE'S REEF. + +A hill 145 feet high, the loftiest point of the group, rises near the +centre of Tremouille, the north-east island, off the north-west end of +which a ledge extends in the direction of an out-lying reef, bearing +North 55 degrees West (magnetic) nine miles and a half, which places it +in latitude 20 degrees 17 minutes South and longitude 0 degrees 26 +minutes West of Swan River; or 115 degrees 21 minutes East. This could be +no other than that which we had so often looked for as Ritchie's Reef, as +our former tracks to the westward had assured us that it did not lie in +that direction. In latitude it agreed with the position given to it on +the charts, but in longitude it differed considerably, lying full half a +degree to the eastward. It therefore appeared not to be a discovery of +Lieutenant Ritchie's, as it had been not only seen previously by the +French, who had considered it as a reef extending off Tremouille Island, +but many years before by Captain Clerke, who placed it in latitude 20 +degrees 18 minutes South, nine or ten miles North-West (magnetic) from +what he thought to be Rosemary Island, but which it is very evident was +Tremouille. The name then of Clerke's Reef should be given it instead of +Ritchie's. + +WALLABY SHOOTING. + +Mr. Fitzmaurice having seen plenty of wallaby on the larger islands, a +party of us went on shore in the evening, after securing observations for +the rates of the chronometers on a small islet called Flag Islet, near +the centre of the rocky cluster fronting the eastern side of Hermite +Island. This can be recognised by it alone having a sandy point on the +south-west end, which we placed in latitude 20 degrees 27 minutes 47 +seconds South and longitude 0 degrees 8 minutes 20 seconds west of Swan +River. The time of high-water here at full and change, was about 10 +o'clock, when the tide rose fourteen feet; the flood-stream came from the +northward. + +We found that Tremouille was as scantily supplied with vegetation as +Barrow's Island; in one or two places was growing a stunted kind of wood, +sufficient for fuel for a small-sized ship; but there was no sign of +water. The wallaby, which were very numerous, must have got their supply +of moisture from the copious dews. They were found lying very close in +the wiry prickly grass, allowing us to kick them out, when they went off +at speed, affording excellent sport, quite equal to any rabbit shooting; +among three guns we managed, in a couple of hours, to bag nearly twenty. +It was quite a new kind of wallaby, and has been classed, from a specimen +we brought away, as Lagorchester conspicillata. It had a blunt nose, +similar to those at Barrow's Island, and was about the same size, though +its colour was lighter, and it had a back exactly like a European hare. +The tail tapered away like a rat's, and the flesh was by no means good to +eat, tasting very strong; this was the only instance in which we found +wallaby at all unpalatable. + +Although our exploration in this neighbourhood did not lead to our +finding any of the land fertile, yet from the new feature our chart will +give to this part of the coast, the necessity of the Beagle's visit will +be evident. Our object had been satisfactorily attained, inasmuch as we +had cleared up the doubts respecting Ritchie's Reef, and the long-lost +Tryal Rocks. We had also been so fortunate as to add to the stores of +natural history a new kangaroo and two kinds of wallaby, besides a large +water-snake. + +RITCHIE'S REEF. + +September 9. + +We left Tremouille Island in the morning, and passing round the north +side, soon came in sight of Clerke's, alias Ritchie's Reef. It was our +intention to have gone round the northern end of it, but the tide setting +two knots an hour forced us to the southward. In a line midway between it +and Tremouille the depth was 17 and 20 fathoms. The reef was nearly three +miles long, in a north-east and south-west direction, and one mile and a +half wide; the centre being partly dry. Two miles and a half South-West +by West of it we crossed a patch of 13 fathoms, with 22 and 25 fathoms on +each side, the northern part of Hermite Island bearing South 62 degrees +East fourteen miles, soon after which it was lost sight of from the poop. + +The next afternoon a westerly wind brought us again in with the land; and +in the evening we tacked in six fathoms, three miles and a half to the +northward of Thevenard Island, which we found to be connected with a reef +we discovered in the morning, lying eleven miles North by East from it; +inside this reef the water looked deep and smooth. The island is a narrow +strip lying east and west, about three miles; the west end we made in +latitude 21 degrees 26 minutes South and longitude 114 degrees 54 minutes +East. From the number of islands I saw to the south of Thevenard, I think +the reef continues to Maison Island, near the North-west Cape. The outer +one, seen from the Beagle, is in latitude 21 degrees 31 minutes South and +longitude 114 degrees 42 minutes East. I myself believe the whole extent +from Maison to Barrow's Island is occupied by islets and reefs, probably +all connected. We know, in fact, from Captain King, that a reef extends +sixteen miles off the south end of Barrow's Island. + +RESULT OF SOUNDINGS. + +Seventeen miles in a North-West by North direction from Thevenard Island +we had 65 fathoms, fine white sand, having deepened gradually from six +fathoms three miles north of it. In June of this year, working to the +North-East we had 68 fathoms three miles West by South of that position, +and 111 fathoms six miles North-West of it; beyond this no bottom was +found with 120 and 150 fathoms.* + +(*Footnote. The following table is the result of other outer soundings +obtained in the Beagle, showing how far the bank of soundings extends off +the Western coast of Australia. + +COLUMN 1: LATITUDE SOUTH (DEGREES, MINUTES). +COLUMN 2: DEPTH IN FATHOMS. +COLUMN 3: QUALITY OF BOTTOM. +COLUMN 4: DISTANCE FROM NEAREST LAND. + +32 02 : 70 : Fine white sand and rock : Rottnest or Garden Island 20 +miles. +30 55 : 86 : Fine grey sand : Main abreast 34 miles. +29 38 : 127 : Fine grey sand : Main abreast 39 miles. +26 42 : 187 : Fine grey sand : South point of Shark's Bay 37 miles. +21 14 : 111 : Fine white sand : Thevenard Island 25 miles. +20 00 : 150 : Fine white sand : Tremouille Island 35 miles. + +It would thus appear that a ship in less than 110 fathoms off the west +shore of the continent would be within forty miles of the land; and +nearly the same distance from the islands fronting it, when in about 200 +fathoms between the latitudes of 19 degrees 50 minutes South and 20 +degrees 10 minutes South. The bank of soundings extends further off the +North-west coast, as eighty-five miles north of Depuch Island we had only +75 fathoms, fine white sand. In a south direction from that position the +water shoaled rapidly to 40 fathoms in fifteen miles; but very gradually +afterwards to 15 fathoms in fifty miles. This slope of the bank was +determined by several boards in working to the westward.) + +RETURN TO SWAN RIVER. + +The glimpse we got of the string of islands lying between Barrow's Island +and the North-west Cape, was quite unexpected, as the next land we had +intended seeing was Swan River. After rounding the North-west Cape, we +had the usual southerly winds, but a strong breeze from the north-west +overtook us in latitude 30 degrees 40 minutes South and longitude 112 +degrees 25 minutes East, and shortened the passage, bringing us on the +27th to an anchorage under the east end of Rottnest Island, where we +found a current sweeping round to the southward, at the rate of nearly a +knot an hour. There had not been any previously felt; but in latitude 30 +degrees South and longitude 110 degrees East, two days before the +north-wester, it set two knots to the northward; another instance of how +entirely the currents are governed by the winds off this coast. + +NATIVE TALENT. + +Our Swan River native had not obtained so much information of his wild +countrymen to the northward as Miago. Still he had made the most of what +he saw; and his visit to Timor crowned all. The facility and rapidity +with which he could make a song about anyone whom he might choose as the +subject of his poetical fancy, was very amusing; he must have equalled +many of the Italian improvisatori. He had also got a very good idea of +where the ship had been since leaving Swan River, in his head. The +drawings of his countrymen on Depuch Island had greatly hurt his vanity, +whilst they excited his emulation; and always afterwards, whenever he +could get hold of paper or pencil, he was trying to excel them, which, +from the improvement he made, I have no doubt he would have shortly done. + +During the time he and his townsman Miago were with us, the following +vocabulary was made; the words from Port Essington have been furnished by +Mr. Earl. + +COLUMN 1: ENGLISH. +COLUMN 2: PORT ESSINGTON. +COLUMN 3: SWAN RIVER. + +Crow : - : Woordang. +Emu : Angorok : Wadye. +Eggs : Olajuk : Noorago. +Shags : - : Mere. +Kangaroo : Abbugi : Yewart. +Female Kangaroo : - : Waroo. +Wallaby: - : Wallyo. +Bandicoot or rat : - : Condee. +Very small kangaroo, larger than a wallaby : - : Goora. +Ringtail possum : - : Gnoorah. +Large possum : - : Goomal. +--tailed possum : - : Mooroo. +Native dog : Nukakoin : Dudah. +The tail : - : Diar. +Black swan : - : Coolecha. +Duck : Cormoro : Oonanah. +Mountain duck : - : Kooracha. +Wombat : - : Koolemah. +Magpie : - : Gooraba. +Brown Chatterer : - : Telaho +Fishhawk : - : Undoorah. +Eagle : - : Mulurah. +Pigeon : - : Woodah. +Quail : Windalo : Barrabberry. +Tortoise : - : Booye, or Boorje. +Mullett : - : Kalkurrie. +Cobler : - : Corallia. +Small blue bird : - : Deldillia. +Snake : Ambeetj : Waggile. +Sun : Muree : Murgah. +Moon : Allee : Magee. +Stars : Argadba : Nungarah. +Clouds : - : Marah. +Wind : Mailo : Curajahl. +A bird : Aluk-aluk : Walta. +Sand : Onak : Coo-yah. +Head : Wokbok : Cuttah. +Eyes : Ira : Mael. +Nose : Anjinmul : Moolyah. +Ears : Alaijar : Tungah. +Mouth : Angaikbirig : Dah. +Chin : - : Nungah. +Face : Anmarura : Yoodah. +Hair : Angbal : Cutap. +Eyebrows : - : Mingart. +Eyelashes : - : Cunbah. +Teeth : Anjigi : Nalgo. +Tongue : - : Dalang. +Neck : - : Wardo. +Throat : - : Daragert. +Shoulders : - : Wundardah. +Arms : - : Wango. +Armpit : - : Nulyar. +Collar bone : - : Chelee wundardah. +Arm, upper : - : Maraga. +Arm, lower : - : Aye yung. +Wrist : - : Mardalliah. +Thumb : Gamar : Marang-unga. +First finger : - : Mara-mamal. +Second finger : - : Mara-cudejip. +Third finger : - : Mara-cudejip. +Little finger : - : Mara-colun. +Nails : - : Bere. +Back : - : Goon goh. +Loins : - : Moondo. +Hips : - : Corlge. +Buttocks : - : Mooro. +Hip joint : - : -. +Thigh : - : Dahwool. +Knee : - : Bonnet. +Leg : Adjirt-adjirt : Mattah. +Hams : - : Yallee. +Ankle : - : Bilgah +Heel : - : Geenang hooran. +Foot : Ingalmulbil : Geenang coongoh. +Instep : - : Geenang guerack. +Toes : Rujut-bullal : Chenang ungah. +Breast : - : Undoo. +Belly : Angonidjark : Cabollo. +Breast (woman) : - : Bebe. +Navel : - : Bilye. +Woman : Wari-comomo : Babelyah. +Man : Iwala : Medah. + +... + +To run, stoop, hide, crouch, when about to rain : Kiddi kit mya warra. +To go a long distance : Maran dugon bordeneuk. +To cut up an animal of any kind for roasting : Dedayah killa, kuirderkan, +ki ti kit. +To cover up, to keep warm : Borga koorejalah kunah. +For roasting : Ki ti kit. +To cut up : Kurerkna. +Give me some water : Yahago cabe. +I'm very thirsty : Gangah. +To carry the pickaninee : Colanganee wandung. +Here carry the pickaninee (strong expression) : Colang maranga barang +wandung. +Give me some money : Anyah (or ana) yunagh, uddah. +No money, go away : Neundoh barang gerangah. +You have money : Anyah yungagah uddah. +I go to sleep : Unyah begang undagah. +To sneeze : Neyetta. +A tree : Boono. +Vegetation generally : Jibbah. +Grass : Bobo. +Long grass : Bobo wal-yur-deg. + +NAMES OF SNAKES OF SWAN RIVER. + +Waggile. +Noo no. +Si Dubat. +Wang go. +Bije modo. +Cocongorun. +Beara. +Poolyar. +Uur-nah. +Iguana. +Aunderah. + +LIZARDS OF ABROLHOS, AS WELL AS SWAN RIVER. + +Uundung. +Jinerarah. +Jeregarah. + +... + +When the weather became fine, we ran over to Gage Road. + +ERECT BEACONS AT ROTTNEST. + +October 11. + +We again visited Rottnest in the ship (Lieutenant Roe the +Surveyor-General, accompanying us) for the purpose of erecting beacons on +the rocks lying off the points of Thomson's Bay, as marks for leading +clear to the eastward of the Champion Rock. We were happy to have an +opportunity of rendering this important service to the colonists, who +acknowledged it in a very handsome manner. + +Another object in crossing over to Rottnest was to avoid a north-west +breeze which came on the next day; on the 15th we again returned to Gage +Road. + +ANECDOTES OF A WILD DOG. + +Whilst we were at Swan River this time, a wish I had long entertained of +procuring a pup of the wild breed of dogs* of the country, was gratified. +It was a bitch, and left in the hollow of a tree by her mother who had +just escaped. Knowing that they hunt kangaroos in packs, and have +excellent noses, I was anxious to try if something useful might not be +made out of a cross with the fox-hound; and with this view on my arrival +in England, I gave her to my cousin, Mr. G. Lort Phillips; but she died +in a fit soon after coming into his possession. Whilst with me she had +two litters of pups by a pointer, three each time, the first at two +years, and the second after an interval of ten months. At these times she +was particularly savage, and would take the opportunity of paying off any +old grudge she might have against those who had ill-used her--for she +never forgot an injury--by stealing after them and snapping at their +heels. She was very much attached to her young; one day I took her on +shore and she kept catching birds to bring to them, supplying them, as an +over-fond mother will do, with a superfluity of good things. + +(*Footnote. I am informed by Colonel Owen Phillips, 56th B.N.I., formerly +Assistant-Resident at Macassar, that he saw four wild dogs brought to Sir +Stamford Raffles at Java, which bore a very strong resemblance to the +animals mentioned in the text.) + +I was very much interested in this animal, and took a great deal of pains +to tame her, though I never fully succeeded. Her nose, as I have said, +was excellent; and though quite mute she could hunt very well, as I found +by repeated trials when out rabbit shooting. She would never leave a +hole, working at it with her feet and teeth until she got at the inmate. +These qualities confirmed me in my opinion that a cross with the +fox-hound would produce a good result. As an illustration of her keenness +of smell, I may mention that one day when we were lying in the Tamar +river, she winded some sheep on the bank, and was instantly overboard and +after them, swimming so rapidly that she had reached the land, and, +though herself only the size of a large dog-fox, had pulled down a fine +ram before a party could get on shore to prevent her. When they landed, +instead of trying to make her escape, she slunk into the boat. This freak +of hers cost me five pounds. + +PECULIARITIES OF THE WILD DOG. + +In cold weather her coat was always best, and the brush on her tail most +perfect. She was of a light tan colour, with a little white on the tip of +the tail, and a few black hairs sprinkled in the brush; there was a +little black also about her face. Her step was light and stealthy; and in +her eye meekness and cunning were curiously blended. Though very shy of +man, when once taken up in the arms she lay as quiet as a cat; but with +all dogs she was very quarrelsome, fighting savagely with a greyhound +bitch I had on board, and several times nearly killing a small dog. It +was always difficult to catch her, as she would generally manage to +escape either between the legs or by springing over the shoulders, except +when we were going on shore; then she would allow herself very quietly to +be put into the boat; but on our return the difficulty was how to get her +off, and it became necessary to pounce upon her suddenly. She was never +heard to bark, the only noise she ever made being the dismal howl +peculiar to her breed, and this only when tied up, which consequently, +for the sake of peace, was but of short duration, and always had to be +done with a chain, as she would instantly bite through a rope. Her +mischievous propensity was remarkable, as she often stole into the +officers' cabin and pulled books down from the shelves, tearing the backs +off and then destroying the leaves. As an instance of her sure-footedness +and activity I may mention that I have seen her leap twice her own height +from the stem of the midship boat, in endeavouring to seize fowls or meat +that was hung on the mainstay, always alighting on the point she sprang +from. At other times she would attempt to crawl up it like a cat, in +order to steal what was there. Her proneness to thieving was very great; +I have frequently seen her eating stolen things when she would refuse +what was offered her; it was never safe to take her near poultry. + +GEOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. + +Whilst in this locality I may take the opportunity of introducing a few +notes on the geological formation of the country in the neighbourhood of +Swan River, furnished by Mr. Bynoe: + +The most remarkable feature is the absence or scantiness of the secondary +and transition rocks; all the tertiary appears to be of the newest kind, +and to lie in juxtaposition with the primary. This character forms the +sandy margin from the Darling Range, or chain of granite hills, nearly +2000 feet high to the sea, in the immediate vicinity of which the sand is +bounded by a calcareous form of limestone, and, where jutting into the +sea and forming perpendicular or overhanging cliffs, the faces are thrown +into a beautiful kind of fretwork (See volume 1) of more compactness than +the surrounding mass. In most places about the neighbourhood of +Fremantle, shells are found of the existing species along the coast, +firmly impacted in its substance, particularly a large species of +buccinum, as well as the strombus. This calcareous formation has been +traced as far north as Shark's Bay; it crosses over to the Abrolhos +Group, there frequently lying over a coral formation, and forming in many +places cavities of a cylindrical figure, of some few feet in depth. Beds +of clays, varying in quality and colour, are to be met with on sandy +margins, containing particles of gypsum. + +On the Darling Range is found a red cellular structure capping the +granite, assuming all the appearance of having been subjected to fire; it +extends also in the low country about that +neighbourhood. + +Slate of a primitive character is found on the Canning River. The +mountain chain or Darling Range runs nearly in the direction of north and +south. On the eastern side of it, close to the base, are several groups +of isolated conical hills, from a half to one mile apart, extending from +the William River to the Tugee District, a distance of about one hundred +and twenty miles, bearing on their summits strong evidences of ignition. +The country farther on to the eastward falls into sandy plains, similar +to those on the western side, and intersected by watercourses; during the +summer, pools remain, and at that time become remarkably salt. On the +mountains, as well as on the plains, scattered pebbles in patches are to +be met with; they appear to contain iron, being highly magnetic. + +SAIL FROM SWAN RIVER. + +From the very debilitated state of some of the crew, from dysenteric +affections contracted at Timor, we were not able to leave Swan River +before the 25th of October. At noon on the 28th, Cape Naturaliste bore +South 80 degrees East three miles; according to our observations it was +in latitude 33 degrees 31 minutes 45 seconds South four miles further +south than it is placed in the charts, though in longitude (0 degrees 47 +minutes 30 seconds West of Swan River) it appeared pretty correct. Some +reefs have been reported three or four miles off the north-east side of +it: but we could see nothing of them, and had a depth of 25 and 26 +fathoms. We got soundings of 23 and 25 fathoms in passing along a few +miles from the coast towards Cape Leeuwin, in the neighbourhood of which +we looked in vain for a rock called the Rambler, that had been supposed +to be about twelve miles south-west of a remarkable white patch close to +the northward of the Cape, the locality of which it always serves to +show. Twenty miles west of Cape Leeuwin the depth was 47 fathoms. + +Passing along the south coast we found the white-topped rocks near Cape +Chatham to be in longitude 0 degrees 29 minutes 30 seconds East of Swan +River. They are not only remarkable in themselves, but like the Eclipse +Islands, are admirably situated for showing a ship's position when in +with the coast. + +PEAKED HILL. + +We entered King George's Sound on November 2nd. I should here observe +that Bald Head is connected with the main by a low piece of land, in the +centre of which stands a small peak; this gives the head, from the offing +to the southward, the appearance of an island. In the view annexed the +reader will perceive a representation of the conspicuous headland called +Peaked Hill, with its peculiar profile outline, lying about five miles +south-west of Bald Head. + +Proceeding up the Sound we anchored in Princess Royal Harbour, Mount +Clarence bearing North-North-East, and the south end of Michaelmas Island +just open of Point Possession. The entrance to this great basin is by a +narrow channel in the north-east corner; a long spit extending off the +inner western entrance-point forms the chief impediment. Few vessels +escape touching it; but although the passage is thus contracted the +Beagle was worked through both ways. Inside, there is water sufficient +for the largest ship in the navy; but only for a limited space, a short +distance within the entrance--merely a hollow scooped out towards the +north-west corner of the harbour. + +ALBANY. + +Here, just above a dazzling white sandy beach, a straggling village +points out the township of Albany. Mounts Clarence and Melville reared +their bare granitic heads on either side, and huge fantastically-shaped +boulders were strewn over their slopes. The origin of this settlement may +not be generally known: it was first planned, in consequence of a report +that the French were about to establish themselves there; which turned +out to be the truth, for they had actually formed and abandoned a +settlement before Major Lockyer arrived from Sydney, in 1825. The gang of +convicts he brought with him was withdrawn, when Albany became part of +the government of Western Australia. + +Among the few improvements that had taken place since our visit in 1836, +were a jetty and a government storehouse. The latter was close to the +spot where the observations were made, and where I noticed some trappean +dykes intersecting the granite in a North-North-West direction. I +observed the same circumstance at Simon's Bay, Cape of Good Hope. + +I was sorry to see that the infant town of Albany had made so little +progress, especially as it possesses by far the finest harbour in Western +Australia. There is no doubt that ultimately its great natural advantages +will be developed; but it is somewhat surprising that they have not +already been turned to better account. Though there is not a very great +extent of good land in the neighbourhood, there is amply sufficient to +hold out encouragement to the settler; especially when we consider that +this is one of the most healthy portions of the continent, that it is +never visited by hot winds, and that the thermometer is rarely below 60 +or above 85 degrees. This evenness of temperature at all times of the +year is very remarkable, and renders the spot particularly suitable for +invalids, many persons coming even from Swan River to renovate +themselves. If our East Indians were aware of what a salubrious climate +they might enjoy at King George's Sound, they would soon be seen flocking +thither to repair the constitutions they have injured on the banks of the +Ganges and the Indus. + +Our object in visiting this place was to obtain a meridian distance; and +between the observations for rating the chronometers I availed myself of +an offer of Lieutenant Warburton, commanding the detachment of the 51st +Regiment, doing duty there, to accompany him on a visit to the +out-stations. We were joined by a person from the settlement, who owned +some kangaroo dogs, and by three or four natives. + +Leaving Albany, we reached the foot of a large clear piece of land called +the Great Plain, about fifteen miles distant, and a little off the Swan +River road. + +BURNING THE BUSH. + +On our way we met a party of natives engaged in burning the bush, which +they do in sections every year. The dexterity with which they manage so +proverbially a dangerous agent as fire is indeed astonishing. Those to +whom this duty is especially entrusted, and who guide or stop the running +flame, are armed with large green boughs, with which, if it moves in a +wrong direction, they beat it out. Their only object in these periodical +conflagrations seems to be the destruction of the various snakes, +lizards, and small kangaroos, called wallaby, which with shouts and yells +they thus force from their covert, to be despatched by the spears or +throwing-sticks of the hunting division. The whole scene is a most +animated one, and the eager savage, every muscle in action and every +faculty called forth, then appears to the utmost advantage, and is indeed +almost another being. I can conceive no finer subject for a picture than +a party of these swarthy beings engaged in kindling, moderating, and +directing the destructive element, which under their care seems almost to +change its nature, acquiring, as it were, complete docility, instead of +the ungovernable fury we are accustomed to ascribe to it. Dashing through +the thick underwood, amidst volumes of smoke--their dark active limbs and +excited features burnished by the fierce glow of the fire--they present a +spectacle which it rarely falls to our lot to behold, and of which it is +impossible to convey any adequate idea by words. + +COURSE A KANGAROO. + +After tethering out our horses and making our breakwind for the night, we +went out in the evening to look for a kangaroo. I had never as yet seen +one put fairly at his speed on open ground before a dog, but this evening +I was fully gratified; for we soon found a couple lying out on our side +of the plain, and by crawling up through the wood we managed to slip the +dogs about five hundred yards from them. Away they went, leaving a stream +of dust in their wake. Their habitual curving direction soon gave us a +broadside view; and a splendid course it was. They ran horizontally, no +leap or hop being perceptible. At first the dogs closed rapidly, but for +some time afterwards no change in their relative positions took place, +each doing his best. The kangaroos held their own well, until they had +reached nearly the other side of the plain, a distance of about two +miles, when the dogs began gradually to draw on them, and at length, +after a turn or two, the smaller was run into just before entering the +wood. It was a fine young buck, weighing about 60 pounds, and made a +capital supper for our party. The natives cooked the tail for us in their +own way, roasting it with the hair on, the best mode of dressing it, +except in soup. + +Next morning we found that our sable friends had eaten so much of the +kangaroo that there was great difficulty in getting them to move. +However, they at length consented to accompany us, and we proceeded five +or six miles further on the Swan River road, to a place where a party of +soldiers were stationed. Here the temptation of a fresh supply of +kangaroo proved irresistible, and with the exception of one, who was +Lieutenant Warburton's servant, the natives all left us to resume the +pleasant occupation of eating. The gastronomic feats performed by these +persons are really surprising; and in the work recently published by Mr. +Eyre the reader will find some curious details on the subject. + +We now took a westerly direction, for a tract of good country lying about +thirty-five miles from the Sound, a little to the westward of the road to +Swan River. + +PITFALLS FOR KANGAROOS. + +On our way we crossed several short trenches, cut by the natives for +pitfalling kangaroos, which were here very numerous. They were dug across +the runs of the animal, and covered with a slight layer of brush or +grass, and were very narrow at the bottom, so that the prey could get no +footing to bound out. + +HERDS OF KANGAROOS. + +I have never, at any other place, seen similar contrivances resorted to +by the aborigines; in this neighbourhood they have probably been +suggested by the great abundance in which the kangaroo is found. I am +certain there could scarcely have been less than a hundred in a herd. It +was curious to observe them hopping along over the grass or underneath +the trees, with the large males bringing up the rear of a certain number +of does. We had several very beautiful courses, but the dogs being +footsore were beaten on all occasions. + +I was very much pleased with this portion of the country: it quite +resembles the park-like features of Port Phillip. We heard the kangaroos +thumping the ground all night, as they hopped along round our bivouac, +the heavier fall of the male being plainly distinguishable. It was now +determined to shape a southward course for Ungerup, one of Lady Spencer's +farms on the Hay River; and after laying down our position by a sort of +dead reckoning I had kept to find the course, we started. + +Soon after moving off, Lieutenant Warburton discovered that he had +forgotten to leave some message or other at the station, and determined +on sending back his native servant. But as he was out of the limits of +his own tribe, it required some persuasion to induce him to go; and he +was only prevailed on to do so by being allowed to carry his master's gun +for protection. + +Part of our road lay through a thick mahogany scrub; and as the horse I +rode was a young unbroken one from the Cape, I might perhaps with less +trouble have tried to take an elephant straight with a snaffle bit in his +mouth. The sameness of the trees in this part being very great it is +difficult to hold a direct course; and if, after having chosen one to +steer by, my attention happened to be taken off by a kangaroo starting +up, I was always obliged to refer to the compass. + +We made the Hay a mile or two above Ungerup; it is there a small tortuous +rivulet, with rich grassy banks, overhung by wide shady trees. The valley +is narrow, sloping gently up on either side. If I had been pleased with +the good piece of land just left, I was still more so with this; the +mould was rich and fine: I did not believe there was land of such quality +near the Sound. + +LADY SPENCER'S FARMS. + +In passing another of Lady Spencer's farms, seven miles farther down the +same river, we were glad to pocket a large piece of damper for our +evening meal, which we made at our old bivouac near the Great Plain, +where we found the native under the break-wind, which he had covered with +another bough or two. Next evening we got into Albany, and on the morning +of the 15th the Beagle was running out of King George's Sound. + +It was resolved that we should touch at South Australia, to secure a good +meridian distance by short stages between Swan River and Sydney. +Accordingly, on the morning of the 27th, we entered Investigator Strait, +having been detained by strong easterly winds about a hundred and fifty +miles to the westward of Kangaroo Island. Whilst contending with them we +discovered a small high rocky island, the summit of which we found to be +in latitude 34 degrees 49 minutes South and in longitude 19 degrees 4 +minutes East of Swan River; it bore South 8 degrees East nine miles from +the high peak on Greenly's Island. The name of the Beagle was bestowed +upon it. + +At noon, as we entered the Strait, we committed to the deep the body of +Nicholas Lewis, seaman, who died of sickness contracted at Timor. + +NEPTUNE ISLES. + +We kept close to the Neptune Isles, a low rocky group, the southernmost +of which we give the position of; Captain Flinders, who passed too far to +the northward, having not exactly determined it: it lies in latitude 35 +degrees 22 minutes 15 seconds South and longitude 20 degrees 22 minutes +15 seconds East of Swan River. These islands appear well adapted for a +light-house. + +There was a strong indraught of a knot an hour into Spencer's Gulf. +Kangaroo Island has no remarkable features; whilst Althorpe and Quoin +islands are sufficiently striking to be recognized by anyone who has once +seen them. + +On the morning of the 29th we anchored in Holdfast Road, in 4 1/2 +fathoms, Mount Lofty,* a slight excrescence on the highest part of the +range of hills eastwards, bearing North 80 degrees East; a flagstaff at +a straggling village under it pointed out the township of Glenelg. At the +foot of this we made our observations, which place it in latitude 34 +degrees 58 minutes 30 seconds South and longitude 12 degrees 41 minutes +15 seconds West of Sydney. + +(*Footnote. This hill, bearing east, is a guide to Holdfast Road.) + +Landing at Glenelg we proceeded towards Adelaide, which lay about six +miles to the northward, in the centre of a rich plain, stretching from +the foot of Mount Lofty to the sea, and contracting gradually to the +southward, where beyond Glenelg it rises into downs, increasing in height +as they approach Cape Jervis, and ultimately blending with spurs thrown +off from Mount Lofty range. Adelaide itself is situated on the banks of +the Torrens, a very insignificant stream, or rather series of pools, in +the dry season. + +ADELAIDE. + +I have spoken, in a former chapter, of my astonishment at first seeing +Sydney; but certainly the same feeling was roused in a still greater +degree by the first appearance of Adelaide; although I was prepared for +something great by what I had heard of the multitudes that had flocked +thither from the mother country. In truth a noble city had in the course +of four years sprung, as if by magic, from the ground, wearing such an +appearance of prosperity and wealth that it seemed almost incredible it +could have existed but for so short a time. + +GOVERNOR GAWLER'S POLICY. + +The fact is that this was mainly owing to the liberal expenditure of the +governor, Colonel Gawler, who saw the policy at the earliest possible +opportunity of making adequate preparation for the stream of population +that was so rapidly flowing in. Every public building was erected on a +scale to suit the anticipated splendour of the colony, and in so +substantial a manner, that it will be long ere another outlay becomes +necessary. That this was the best line of conduct to adopt, most persons, +on reflection, will acknowledge. In New Zealand, for example, much of the +disturbances that have arisen may be attributed to the fact of so many +settlers arriving before sufficient preparation had been made for their +reception. + +Much fault has been found with Colonel Gawler's military display, as it +is called; in other words, with his raising a corps of volunteers. But +the necessity of this may be presumed from the facts, that Sir Charles +Napier, the conqueror of Scinde, as we learn from his own pen, refused +the government, because a military force was not to be sent with him; and +that it has been found advisable to place a body of troops at the +disposal of Colonel Gawler's successor. + +I paid a visit to the port, distant from the town about five miles, made +easy by an excellent macadamized road, carried, in some places, on a +causeway over a swamp, and forming a great and imperishable monument of +the Governor's enterprising spirit. The port reminded me of one of the +quiet mangrove creeks on the North coast, except that it had only one +bend, changing from a northerly to a south-westerly direction, which at +certain times of the day renders it navigable, with a fair wind, each +way. For instance, the seabreeze will take a vessel out through the +northerly part, and next morning she will have the land breeze to carry +her the rest of the distance; whilst, alternating, the same breeze serves +to take ships in. The mouth of the port is well marked with black and +white buoys; and a light vessel is moored off the entrance, with pilots +in attendance; a red buoy is on the bar, where at high-water there is +sometimes 15 feet, but the tides are very irregular, being much higher +with south-west winds; the general rise was about four feet. + +MR. EYRE'S EXPEDITION. + +We were very much pleased with the animated description we had of the +departure of Mr. Eyre's expedition to the north; but what gave us +particular satisfaction was the evidence afforded of how much the whole +colony had the welfare of this enterprising little band at heart. I had +not before seen in Australia any place where the progress of discovery +was so liberally forwarded, as the readers will at once learn from Mr. +Eyre's book. One cause of this we may discover in the fact that the +richness of the country immediately surrounding Adelaide made them eager +to ascertain its extent. Indeed until this was known they were +necessarily unsettled, as few liked to locate themselves permanently +until the extent of the field within which they were to make their choice +was determined. + +To what extent the colonists of South Australia are indebted to the +sacrifice of property, the loss of time, the bodily fatigue, and +unceasing exertions of Mr. Eyre, I also leave the reader to gather from +his own lucid narrative. The country has now been found to be almost +hemmed in by sterile districts; and the good lands, contrary to our +experience of the rest of the continent, to be nearly all in one spot. A +number of enterprising colonists, therefore, concentrated within +comparatively narrow limits, could not fail of developing the resources +of the country, and of discovering what mineral treasures it may contain. +The good encouragement it has lately received has, to a certain extent, +assisted in bringing it back to the position of one of the most thriving +colonies in Australia; though we must attribute much of its present +prosperity to the impulse originally given by the policy of Colonel +Gawler, which, though it may have caused a temporary financial +embarrassment, is now making its happy effects sensibly felt. + +THE OVERLANDERS. + +The eastern extent of the country of South Australia was determined by +the Overlanders, as they call the gentlemen who bring stock from New +South Wales. The first that came across were Messrs. Bonny and Horden. An +interesting account of them will be found in Captain Grey's work. Many of +these pioneers of civilization endure extraordinary hardships during +their expeditions; as an example of which I may mention that Mr. Bonny, +in endeavouring to find a new route, was compelled to kill a calf and +drink its blood to save his life. On this occasion water was found by the +cattle, turned loose for that purpose. Another gentleman, who had lost +his way in the bush, had recourse to a curious expedient to assuage his +burning thirst, namely, to bleed the horse he rode, which was the means +of preserving both himself and the quadruped also. + +On our arrival in Adelaide the town was full of the Overlanders, and +everyone was engaged in buying or selling stock, which gave the place +quite an animated appearance. From one of these gentlemen I learned +undeniable proofs that the Australians indulge in cannibalism. He had +seen in a woman's bag the hand of a child that had been partly eaten. +Since that time the matter has been placed beyond a doubt by the report +of the Protector, Mr. Sievewright, who witnessed with his own eyes a most +horrible feast off the body of a young woman.* It is extraordinary that a +custom so remarkable should have so long wanted confirmation. + +(*Footnote. See Mr. Eyre's Discoveries in Central Australia.) + +CAPTAIN STURT. + +At Adelaide I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of the intrepid +traveller Captain Sturt, who has since again taken the field, +endeavouring to penetrate to the interior of the Australian continent, +and to remove the veil of mystery that now hangs over it. From him I +learnt that the same strange kind of bird, a species of rail, that once +visited Swan River, also made its appearance in South Australia on one +occasion. I have already alluded to this remarkable circumstance in a +former chapter. + +During our stay we visited Mount Lofty, placed by our observations in +latitude 34 degrees 58 minutes 20 seconds South, and longitude 12 degrees +30 minutes 20 seconds West of Sydney. The cool air of this range, the +greatest elevation of which is 2200 feet, was very pleasant after a ride +over the heated plain. I was agreeably surprised to find in the heart of +the hills a most comfortable inn, where our party sat down to a luncheon +of lamb chops and green peas, with a beautiful cool bottle of sherry. +Such is the march of civilization! To the north of our road was a lead +mine, which will ultimately be a source of great riches to the colony; +for which, indeed, nature has done much in the way of mineral +productions. + +NATIVE SCHOOLS. + +I was greatly pleased with the apparent success that had attended the +schools of the German Missionaries; and especially with the aptitude for +learning displayed by both boys and girls; but my pleasure would have +been much increased had I not felt convinced that the system of education +adopted, possessed many serious defects. In the first place, sufficient +care did not seem to have been taken to recommend the schools to the +natives, and to induce them to send their children voluntarily. That it +was necessary to resort to some means of effecting this beyond mere +persuasion, will be evident when we recollect how useful even the +youngest member of an Australian family is to its parents. Almost as soon +as the child begins to walk, certainly as soon as it is capable of +receiving instruction, light tasks, even in the hunting expeditions, are +allotted to it; so that, to remove either boys or girls, and take them to +school, is, in reality, to deprive their friends of assistance, which to +them is valuable. For this reason, some compensating advantage should be +offered to the father, to prevail on him to send his children to school. + +Again, when once pupils have been procured, it is exceedingly unwise to +allow them to maintain a constant intercourse with their tribe, and be +thus subjected to deteriorating influences that must almost irresistibly +combat the beneficial effects of their education. But it is needless to +dwell further on this subject, as Mr. Eyre has so completely stated the +question in his late work. + +REMARKS ON THE SYSTEM FOR CIVILISING THE NATIVES. + +I cannot, however, refrain from alluding to another point in connection +with this matter; namely, that when I visited South Australia, all +instruction was communicated in the native language. My attention had +already been drawn to the subject on visiting Tahiti, in 1835, when I +perceived with regret, that the missionaries, instead of endeavouring to +introduce the English tongue, persisted in imparting instruction in a +kind of corrupted dialect, of which the words were for the most part +native, whilst the syntax and construction were in exact conformity with +our own; the observation of the same circumstance at New Zealand, had +further induced me to reflect on the subject. How much more prudent would +it have been to introduce, at once, the language of Great Britain into +the islands of the Pacific; as, judging from every indication, it must +ultimately prevail over the vast variety of primitive and imperfect +dialects now spoken; and which serve as barriers between the various +tribes. That the same mistake should have been made in South Australia +was the more remarkable, as public opinion seems to run completely +counter to it. It appears evident indeed, that if the object was to +benefit and civilize the aboriginal inhabitant, the right course to take, +was to give him an instrument which he could employ to enlarge his mind +and extend his experience. It was wrong to expect that much good could be +done by confining him within the sphere in which his thoughts had been +accustomed to move; or at any rate, to limit the expansion of his +knowledge, within the bounds of a dialect which was only imperfectly +understood by the masters who taught it. I am aware that the excellent +men who adopted this plan, were fearful of allowing the natives to +acquire a facility of communicating with the vicious part of the white +population; but had they taken a more enlarged view, and considered the +absolute impossibility of preventing a certain amount of intercourse--had +they had more confidence in the better part of their own race, and +reflected on the immense advantage which the inquisitive savage would +derive from being enabled to put questions to men who could enlighten him +by their answers, they would more speedily have effected their benevolent +intentions. I am of opinion that no surer method of raising the +Australian in the scale of civilization could have been devised, than to +put him in possession of the English language; and I am glad to hear that +the opinion I so early formed has at length been partially acted upon. +The natives will soon be open to an engagement on board a vessel, and may +expect to emulate the New Zealanders, some of whom have risen to be +mates; and to acquire the information and experience of which they stand +so much in need. Whereas, were their knowledge confined to their own +imperfect dialect, not only would they be unable to extend their +acquaintance with other parts of the world, and with the arts of +civilization, but they would remain, as many of them now are, actually +incapable of communicating with many inhabitants of their own districts. +For it must be borne in mind, that very frequently, a tribe inhabiting +one valley is ignorant of the language spoken in the next. So that to +instruct them only in their own forms of speech, is not only difficult, +since, on the death of each master someone else has to learn the grammar +and vocabulary to supply his place, but absolutely tends to perpetuate +the isolation in which the natives now live; and which is the main cause +of the little development of their minds, and the inferior position they +occupy in the scale of civilization. + +LEAVE HOLDFAST ROAD. + +We sailed from Holdfast Road, on December 7th, but in consequence of +light winds, with occasional very heavy squalls, it was not until the +afternoon of the 10th, that we got out to sea by Backstairs Passage, +between Cape Jervis and Kangaroo Island. On the morning of the 8th, we +were obliged to shorten all sail to a very heavy squall from +West-South-West, which announced its appearance by a distant roaring, +some time before it was seen on the water. These squalls generally +succeed the hot winds that prevail at this season in South Australia, +coming from the interior.* + +(*Footnote. During the hot winds we observed the thermometer, in the +direct rays of the sun, to be 135 degrees.) + +ARRIVE AT SYDNEY. + +Easterly winds prevented us from entering Bass Strait until the 16th. In +reaching in towards the coast, seven or eight miles west of Cape Otway, +we found that it projected three or four miles too much on the charts. +Bass Strait appeared under a different aspect from what it had been +accustomed to wear; light winds, by no means in keeping with our +impatience, detaining us till the 21st, when we got a kick out of the +eastern entrance from a strong south-wester, and afterwards had a good +run up to Sydney, where we arrived on the 23rd. + + +CHAPTER 2.7. + +Land Sales. +Unsettled boundaries. +New Zealand. +Hunter River. +Midnight alarm. +Ludicrous scene. +Changes in Officers of ship. +Leave Sydney. +Port Stephens. +Corrobory. +Gale at Cape Upstart. +Magnetical Island. +Halifax Bay. +Astonish a Native. +Description of country. +Correct chart. +Restoration Island. +Picturesque arrival. +Interview with the Natives from Torres Strait. +Their weapons. +Shoal near Endeavour River. +Discover good passage through Endeavour Strait. +Booby Island. +New birds. +The Painted Quail. + +LAND SALES. + +No improvement had taken place in colonial affairs, and the sales of +land, in consequence of the high price, were very limited. The fact was, +the regulations that had recently been made gave very little +satisfaction. By these the minimum price was fixed at one pound per acre; +in consequence of which many predicted that millions of acres would be +excluded from the market for ages to come, as it seemed not conceivable +that any change could make them worth a quarter that sum, especially as +on an average the natural grasses of the country will only support one +sheep to four acres. The inevitable consequence was to prevent an +augmentation of the emigration fund, which inflicted a serious evil on +the colony, though by many the high price was considered a great boon, as +it enabled them to enjoy, at a trifling charge, immense back runs, as +safe from the intrusion of interlopers as if they had been granted by the +Crown in perpetuity. It is my impression that the attempt to raise the +largest sum of money by the sale of the smallest number of allotments is +unwise, as it operates as a discouragement to small capitalists, who wish +to occupy the land for themselves; it would in the end be more +advantageous almost to give the land away, to a certain extent, in order +to encourage people to go there. It may be worth remarking here, that on +a rough calculation the pound per acre system would realise, supposing +the whole continent were sold, the sum of about 1,679,616,000 pounds. + +UNSETTLED BOUNDARIES. + +The most curious circumstance connected with the division of land in New +South Wales, is the uncertainty that prevails respecting the boundary +line of estates, which must be the source of endless disputes and +expensive litigation among the colonists. The whole arises from the +system adopted of laying down the boundaries by the magnetic north +instead of by the true. This is in itself no easy matter, owing to the +local attraction and the difficulty of finding needles that agree. But +the chief cause of endless change is the variation, which has +progressively increased at Sydney since the colony was first formed, so +as to make a difference in the boundary of a grant of land of one square +mile in ten. + +I will suppose a case in order to illustrate my meaning. In the early +days of the colony a piece of land is obtained by a person who merely +performs the location duties, and does nothing to his estate until the +present time, when he or his successor goes to occupy it. When the land +was purchased the direction of the boundary line was, by compass North 20 +degrees East; but the proprietor finds that in consequence of the +increase of variation during the interval, a North 20 degrees East line +by compass at this time would differ from what it was when his title +deeds were made out, one square mile in ten. As this change has at Sydney +been progressive, and may indeed take a contrary direction, the boundary +lines of grants of lands depending on it will vary accordingly, and +afford endless food for the lawyers. A scientific friend of mine, who was +once trying to remedy the evil in a particular instance, was entreated by +one of that profession not to interfere, for by so doing he would be +taking the bread out of the mouths of himself and his brethren. + +NEW ZEALAND. + +Since our last visit to Sydney the colonisation of New Zealand had taken +place, but from what I heard of the loose system pursued by the Company +of obtaining lands from the natives, I could not but form an opinion that +those who bought lots of them must in the end be ruined; even their right +to sell these lands at all was at the time much questioned. This being +the case, the difficulty any Governor must have to contend with, who +should attempt to solve the intricate problem involved in the +land-question, was apparent, and it will be evident also that those who +pretend to form a judgment on the conduct of Captain R. Fitzroy, must +take into consideration the character of the people, both white and +coloured, with whom he had to deal, and various other circumstances that +are usually kept out of sight. + +During our long stay at Sydney I visited the mouth of the Hunter, for the +purpose of determining the position of Newcastle. The courthouse, +according to my observations, is in latitude 32 degrees 55 minutes 50 +seconds South and longitude 0 degrees 34 minutes 45 seconds East of +Sydney. This is the district from which all the coal used in New South +Wales is brought, and a good harbour is therefore of importance. A party +of convicts were employed in building a breakwater, connecting a cliffy +island at the entrance with the south point of the river, for the purpose +of deepening the mouth, but I much question whether it will answer, as +the silt that is washed down by the stream not finding its former exit +may by meeting the sea form a bar. + +In ascending the valley of the Hunter I saw sufficient to convince me +that a railroad could easily be carried up from Newcastle to Maitland, +and thence to Patrick's Plains.* + +(*Footnote. It appears that a company having for its object the +realization of this idea has just been formed.) + +MIDNIGHT ALARM. + +I cannot at this place resist the temptation of relating an anecdote, +which, though it is not exactly connected with the subject of my work, +may not be thought uninteresting by the reader. I was one night sleeping +at a friend's house; all the family had retired to rest, and I have no +doubt that a perfect stillness prevailed around. Suddenly, a noise like +thunder startled me from my slumbers, and as soon as I was able to +collect my scattered thoughts, I distinctly heard a series of violent +blows against a door at the foot of the staircase leading up to my +bedroom. Though the first impression might have been that the disturbance +was caused by thieves breaking into the house, it appeared improbable +that such characters should make their approach with so much clamour. I +instantly leaped out of bed, and arrived in time to see a sight which I +shall never forget. + +LUDICROUS SCENE. + +The owner of the house, who slept on the ground floor, equally astonished +with myself at the noise, had also quitted his pillow, and, arming +himself with a sword and taper, advanced, in the costumes of Iago, when +he reappears upon the stage after stabbing Cassio and Rodorigo, towards +the door against which the monotonous thumping still continued at regular +intervals. It now appeared that the cause of his alarm was on the inside; +and my host who believed that a party of robbers had introduced +themselves into his premises, hailed them in a loud voice, promising that +if they did not cease their hammering, and surrender, he would put them +every one to death. So far from attending to his suggestion the thumps +increased in rapidity and violence, and he had scarcely time to put +himself in a defensive position when the door burst open and out rushed +his assailants--a multitude of round figures of all sizes, without heads, +legs, or arms! His first thought was that the supernatural existences of +New South Wales had now for the first time revealed themselves to his +eyes! Here was material for a fairytale! The genii of this country in +which everything runs into leg were then it appeared all body! Such were +the fancies that flashed through his mind as he made a desperate lunge at +the advancing foe, one of whom he transfixed from breast to back, whilst +the rest in an instant overthrew and trampled him under foot, if I may +use the expression. And now arose a wild scream--of laughter from myself +and the others who had witnessed this mortal combat, for the disturbers +of our night's repose were no other than a number of huge pumpkins, which +had been placed in a heap upon a press on the landing, and from having +been perhaps carelessly piled had given way, and rolled, one by one, +downstairs, accumulating at the bottom against the door, until by their +weight they forced it open! + +CHANGES ON BOARD THE BEAGLE. + +During our stay at Sydney some important changes took place among the +officers of the ship, the principal of which were the departure for +England of Captain Wickham, who had never thoroughly recovered from the +attack of dysentery he experienced on our first arrival at Swan River, +and the promotion of the writer to the vacancy thus created. Lieutenants +Emery and Eden also left for England; the former was succeeded by +Lieutenant Graham Gore. + +This almost total change in the arrangements of the ship requiring some +delay, and the season for passing through Torres Strait, moreover, not +having commenced, it was the 3rd of June 1841, before the Beagle again +rounded Breaksea Spit, having touched on the way for a meridian distance +at Port Stephens.* + +(*Footnote. We ran out of Port Stephens before a westerly gale. After +passing between Entrance Island and Soldier Point, we steered for +Salamander Head, and then for Tomaree Summit, when it was over the centre +of the first projection inside Nelson Head, which led over the south-west +corner of the shoal patch lying abreast of Red Point in 4 fathoms. When +Nelson Head just shut in Yacaba extreme, we steered for the former, and +passing it hauled over North-East 1/2 East for the western part of Yacaba +Head, keeping a white spot on the second point inside Nelson Head, just +open of the latter, until the leading marks for running out (which I have +before given in my former visit to Port Stephens) were on.) + +SINGULAR CORROBORY. + +Whilst at the latter place, I witnessed a corrobory presenting a peculiar +feature. As soon as it was dark, a number of heaps of fuel scattered here +and there were simultaneously ignited, and the whole surface of the green +was speedily lighted up by the flames. When the illumination was +complete, the men, painted with spots and lines of white commenced the +dance, which consisted in running sideways or in file, stamping with +great violence, and emitting an inharmonious grunt, gesticulating +violently all the time, and brandishing and striking together their +weapons. The peculiar feature in this corrobory, was the throwing of the +kiley, or boomerang, lighted at one end; the remarkable flight and +extraordinary convolutions of this weapon marked by a bright line of +fire, had a singular and startling effect. + +As we were rounding Breaksea Spit, we met four merchant ships, who gladly +availed themselves of our convoy. On the 6th, being anxious to repeat our +last meridian distance, and also the magnetic observations, we anchored +under Cape Upstart. We likewise availed ourselves of the visit to +complete the examination of the bay on the east side of the Cape. The 7th +was a remarkably gloomy day, signalized by a very unusual fall in the +barometer between 8 A.M., and 2 P.M., from 30.14 to 30.00, when the +breeze which had been fresh in the morning, increased to a gale with +squalls. At 3, the wind shifted to the southward, and at 8 when it +moderated, the barometer again rose to 30.17. It is these sudden breezes +that are so fatal to ships caught off the outer barrier without an +opening to get within its shelter. No traces of natives were seen; but +the supply of water was as abundant as before, and we took the +opportunity of completing our stock. + +MAGNETICAL ISLAND. + +On the 8th in the evening we left for Magnetical Island, about half a +mile off the west side of which we anchored next day in 5 fathoms. The +depth from thence shoals in gradually to the head of the bay. A small +rocky islet, to which our observations refer, bore south half a mile, in +latitude 19 degrees 7 minutes 10 seconds South and longitude 4 degrees 29 +minutes 12 seconds West of Sydney. On this I found a greyish kind of +slate; but on Magnetical Island I discovered no local attraction +affecting the needle, so as to warrant the name bestowed by Cook. It is a +high piece of land, with an ill-defined peak in the centre, 1770 feet +high. + +A description and view of it have been given in the first volume. We +remained there five days, in order to rate the chronometers, and to +examine the head of Halifax Bay, where a large estuary had been reported +by Captain King; but of this we could see nothing, and came to the +conclusion that he must have been deceived by mirage. The land certainly +was low in that direction, and trending in to the southward appeared +afterwards to wind round to South-West, offering facilities for getting +over the range before spoken of as 3,600 feet high, and bounding the +shore of Halifax Bay. We were, however, glad of this opportunity of +examining a portion of the continent, that had always excited the +attention of those who passed, by its fertile aspect. + +HALIFAX BAY. + +A party landed in the south corner of Halifax Bay, on a long flat sandy +beach, which at high-water is completely covered. Crossing some small +sand dunes, bound together by a sort of spinifex, we got into a luxuriant +growth of grass, rich and soft, with a springing sort of feel to the +feet. A few wallaby were started in this, but we obtained none; and +seeing a group of rich-looking eucalypti and tea-trees, some of us bent +our steps thitherwards, and found a small stream of fresh water, which +filtered itself through the sand towards the beach. There was no time to +trace it; but for some distance inland we could follow its course with +the eye, from the luxuriant vegetation it nourished. The soil was light +and sandy, covered with dense creepers, and innumerable quantities of the +Angustifolia in splendid flower, many of the clusters occupying a space +of three feet in diameter, with a proportionate stem of about five feet +from the earth. The hum of insects, and sudden disturbance of +rich-coloured parrots, screaming and fluttering through the branches, and +the strong, short, rapid flight of the dove, with its melancholy cooing, +transported us in imagination a long way inland, whereas we were not +three hundred yards from the beach. We now wended our way towards a small +eminence, through long grass, in most places interwoven with creepers, +compelling us to tear our way through them in the ascent. + +ASTONISH A NATIVE. + +In doing so Mr. Bynoe flushed a native; but before the rest of the party +could come up, he had taken to flight. The simultaneous cries of "here's +a native!" "where!" "here!" "there he goes stark naked," rose; and before +ALL EYES could catch a glimpse, his dark figure insensibly blended with +the waving branches of his wild solitude, and without a cry of fear or +joy, he was lost to us, perhaps for ever! We burst through the same +brushwood he had recently thrown aside, and entered a labyrinth of forest +trees, without finding a clue to the direction he had taken. + +The whole of the country appeared to be granitic; the eminence on which +we stood bore that character, and some parts, near the beach, were thrown +into massive blocks, at high-water, completely surrounded by the flux of +tide. The view inland was intercepted by hills and trees, the former +assuming the same appearance as the one we were on, but higher. Our +game-bag was thinly lined with small curlews, oyster-catchers, and +sanderlings. + +A sandy spit connects Magnetical Island on the south side with the main, +and must be sufficiently shoal at low water to allow the natives to ford +over; for we found no canoes with those we met on the island, who were +numerous and apparently very well disposed. Although not a large race, +they were in very good condition; part of their food, is the native yam, +called warran in Western Australia. The birds on the island are common to +other parts; and the wallaby, of which Mr. Bynoe shot three, are light +coloured. + +CORRECT CHART. + +On the evening of the 13th, we again proceeded on our passage; the night +was hazy, with a few slight squalls, much resembling the weather which we +had before experienced in the same place. Towards the close of the 15th, +we anchored eight miles from Cape Tribulation, bearing North 11 degrees +West. The summit of Snapper Island, bore South 7 degrees East six miles; +by which we found that both it and the coast are placed on the charts too +much to the eastward. + +In passing Point Barrow I was very much struck with the similarity which +the low line of cliffs, running along the summit of the high land, bears +to that on the Victoria River.* We avoided the reef off Cape Flinders, by +following the directions given in the first volume, and by making a +detour to the southward round Princess Charlotte's Bay, were enabled to +keep underweigh all night. + +(*Footnote. See Sketches.) + +RESTORATION ISLAND. + +Continuing, we reached Restoration Island soon after dark on the 19th. It +was rather a confined anchorage, to be taken up at that hour with five +ships. Our arrival was under rather singular circumstances. The night +being dark, we could not make out even the outline of the high rocky +island, which appeared one dark mass; and the meeting of the land and sea +was only occasionally distinguished by patches of white, where the water +broke against the steep rocky sides of the island. Not a sound came from +the shore as we drew near our berth; but no sooner did the heavy splash +of the anchor, and the noise of the cable running out, resound among the +heights, than one loud yell of startled natives seemed to rise from one +end of the island to the other. The discharge of a signal rocket, +however, that curved its flight over the island, instantaneously quieted +the uproar, and a death-like silence succeeded. + +NATIVES OF TORRES STRAIT. + +In the morning we found that the island was occupied by a party of +natives from Torres Strait. Their canoes, which were furnished with +outriggers, were hauled up on the beach, and their spears were deposited +in the bushes around, ready for immediate use; but, although they seemed +to suspect our friendly intentions towards them at first, no disturbance +occurred, and some were prevailed upon to come on board. Their presence +forcibly reminded us of the melancholy fate of the crew of the Charles +Eaton; and no doubt they had come to the southward on a wrecking +expedition. They were a much finer race of men, than those met with on +the shores of the continent; their voices sounded softer, and their +language appeared quite different. They instantly recognized the drawing +of a Murray Island canoe, in Flinders' Voyage, and constantly kept +repeating the word toolic, meaning iron, in the Murray Island language. +The lobe of their ears was perforated with a large piece of bone; and +their hair was like that which I have before described as crisp. I +noticed that their spears were all pointed with bone, and that the shafts +in those used for fishing were large, with a coil of line attached, and a +string also connecting the head, which came loose when a porpoise or +turtle was struck; whilst the wood, floating, acted as a drag. At +daylight on the 21st we proceeded on our passage. + +About four or five miles to the southward of Endeavour River, we passed +some discoloured patches near the shore; and thereabouts a shoal has +since been discovered. Having before expressed an opinion that there was +a safe passage through Endeavour Strait, I resolved to take this +opportunity of setting the question at rest. Before passing between the +Possession Isles, towards the entrance of it, I acquainted the rest of +the convoy with my intentions, to give them the option of taking the +chance of a passage with me, or of proceeding by the ordinary route. They +chose the former, and we accordingly entered the Strait, which we found +navigable for vessels drawing 18 feet, by passing about a mile and a half +to the northward of the Wallis Islands, steering a westerly course. In +crossing the ridge extending off Cape Cornwall, the least water was 3 1/2 +fathoms at low tide; North Wallis Island bearing South 64 degrees East +seven miles. There still, however, appeared to be more water to the +southward, which determined me to examine this passage more minutely on +my return from the Gulf. A course was now held for Booby Island, where we +anchored in the evening (the 23rd). + +PASSAGE THROUGH ENDEAVOUR STRAIT. + +It was my intention, in order that we might commence our exploration of +the Gulf with a good supply, to have searched for water in Port Lihou, on +the south side of Cook Island, in Endeavour Strait; but the ships in +company being able to supply us the delay was avoided. Since our last +visit, the book at the Post Office, on Booby Island, had been destroyed +by some mischievous visitors, and the box was in a very dilapidated +state. We repaired the latter, and left a new book with a supply of pens +and ink. + +A ton or two of water was also procured from some holes in the rocks on +the island. I have before spoken of the heaps of stone which Captain King +concluded were erected by seamen; but Dr. Wilson, in his Voyage round the +World, mentions some cairns of stone on certain islands to the northward, +not previously visited by Europeans, and which must have therefore been +the work of natives. + +THE PAINTED QUAIL. + +Mr. Bynoe was fortunate enough to procure two pigeons of a new species +(Ptilinopus superbus) and of beautiful colours; the breast being dark +purple, the crown of the head red, and the other parts green; besides one +specimen of a bird, of the same genus as one on the Abrolhos, generally +called a quail, but with this difference, that it only lays four eggs, +whereas quails lay fourteen or fifteen. It is known to the colonists as +the Painted Quail; and has been called by Mr. Gould, from the specimen we +got on Booby Island, Haemipodius melinatus. + + +CHAPTER 2.8. GULF OF CARPENTARIA. + +Leave Booby Island. +Eastern shore of Gulf. +Van Diemen's Inlet. +Exploration of. +Party of Natives. +Level country. +Tides. +Visit Bountiful Islands. +Description of them. +Sail for Sweers Island. +Investigator Road. +Natives. +Locusts. +Record of the Investigator's visit. +Dig a well. +Boats explore island and coast to the westward. +Sweers and Bentinck Islands. +Tides. +Take ship over to the main. +Another boat expedition leaves. +Ship proceeds to the head of the Gulf. +Discovery and exploration of Disaster Inlet. +Narrow escape. +Description of Interior. +Wild Fowl. +Explore coast to the eastward. +Inlets. +Discover the Flinders. +The Cuckoo. +Ascent of the river. +Night scene. +Burial tree. +Remarks. +Return to the ship. +Exploration of south-western part of Gulf. +Large inlets discovered. + +June 26. + +The vessels forming our convoy departed this morning, and soon +disappeared in the western horizon, leaving the Beagle, that seemed +destined to be a solitary roamer, once more alone at anchor under Booby +Island. + +On the same evening she was herself pursuing her lonely way towards the +Gulf of Carpentaria, the eastern shore of which we saw on the morning of +the 1st of July. In the afternoon we anchored in 3 1/4 fathoms; the north +end of a very low sandy piece of coast, which we found to be in latitude +16 degrees 13 1/2 minutes South, longitude 9 degrees 10 East of Port +Essington, bearing South 70 degrees East, six miles and a half. From this +place the coast trended South 10 degrees West, and was fringed with +mangroves; a few straggling casuarinas grew near the sandy parts, a +feature which we constantly afterwards found to recur; their tall +broom-like shapes form a remarkable element in the coast scenery of the +Gulf. + +SINGULAR TIDAL PHENOMENON. + +A fruitless attempt was made to visit the shore, which was fronted for +the distance of a mile by a bank of soft mud. We could therefore gain no +information respecting the interior; but from the numerous fires, it +appeared to be thickly inhabited. It was here that we first observed the +singular phenomenon of the tides ebbing and flowing twelve hours. + +GULF OF CARPENTARIA. + +Next day the coast was examined for fifteen miles to the southward; its +general character has already been given, which renders it unnecessary to +dilate further here. North-east winds now forced us away from the land, +and we did not see it again till the morning of the 3rd; when, finding as +much as four fathoms within two miles and a half of a projection, we +named it, in consequence, Bold Point. It is in latitude 17 degrees 0 +minutes South, longitude 8 degrees 48 minutes East of Port Essington, and +is rendered conspicuous by two clumps of trees. North 23 degrees West two +miles from Bold Point, we observed an opening, and after anchoring the +ship as near the entrance as possible, I left with the whaleboats, +accompanied by Messrs. Forsyth, Fitzmaurice, and Tarrant, to examine it, +early in the afternoon. The view annexed, taken by Lieutenant Gore, just +after the boats had shoved off, will give the reader an excellent idea of +the appearance of the south-eastern shore of the Gulf of Carpentaria, +from a distance of only two miles. In this view, a gull, resting on the +back of a sleeping turtle, will attract the attention of the reader. + +Proceeding, we crossed the bar, extending three quarters of a mile off +the mouth of the inlet, on which we found only two feet at low-water. The +coast on each side was sandy, with clumps of trees, and to the northward +was fronted by an extensive flat of sand. The first reaches of the inlet +promised well, having a depth of from 1 1/2 to 3 fathoms, and a width of +from two to three hundred yards; but it ultimately became much narrower, +and so torturous that, after following its windings for twenty-seven +miles, we had only advanced eight miles in a South 60 degrees East +direction from the entrance. It then divided--one branch trending south, +and the other east; and each being only fifteen yards wide and two feet +deep, the water quite salt, and the mangroves on either side, moreover, +almost meeting, rendered it impossible to proceed further. Our hopes had +been buoyed up as we advanced, an impression prevailing that we had +discovered a river, from our finding that at low tide the water was +simply brackish. I can only account for this by supposing that there was +an imperceptible drainage of fresh water through the banks. + +The highest part of the country we saw was on the south side of one of +the reaches, six miles from the mouth; but even there the utmost +elevation was only ten feet. This rise was marked by a growth of +tolerable-sized eucalypti. Elsewhere the banks were scarcely three feet +above high-water level, and generally fringed with mangroves, behind +which in many places were extensive clear flats, reaching occasionally +the sides of the inlet towards the upper parts, and forming at that time +the resort of large flights of the bronze-winged pigeon. + +In many of the reaches we met with flocks of wild ducks, of the white and +brown, and also of the whistling kind. The birds we had not before seen +were a large dark brown species of rail, so wary that I could never get +within shot of it, and a rather small blackbird with a white crest. A few +of the large species of crane, called the Native Companion, were also +seen. The only kind of fish taken was the common catfish. + +PARTY OF NATIVES. + +Alligators were very numerous for the first fifteen miles as we ascended; +and we saw a party of natives, but did not communicate with them. Their +astonishment at the appearance of such strange beings as ourselves must +have been very great. It could never before have fallen to their lot to +behold any of the white race; and until our presence undeceived them, +they must have been living in happy ignorance that they were not the only +specimens of humanity upon the face of the earth. + +There was little to interest us in our examination of this inlet, +especially as the Dutch had probably visited it some two hundred years +before; thus destroying the principal charm it would have possessed, +namely, that of novelty. We inferred this from there being an opening +laid down in this neighbourhood by them as Van Diemen's River. I, in +consequence, continued the name, altering river to inlet; though, +probably, at times, it may deserve the appellation of a river, as after +heavy falls of rain it must contain fresh water. Our finding the water +only brackish near the head favours this supposition. + +The habitations of the natives were of a more substantial kind than we +should have expected to meet with in these latitudes, being snug +oval-shaped huts, thatched with coarse grass. The extremely low level +nature of the country, the reader can imagine, as also how much it +surprised us to find that from the boat at high-water our eyes could +wander over miles. Occasionally on the plains, rendered warm from their +colour reflecting the powerful beams of the sun, were to be seen whirling +clouds of dust, towering upwards until their centrifugal force became +exhausted. The temperature, however, was lower about four in the morning +than we had noticed it since leaving Sydney, being only 65 degrees, when +easterly or land winds prevailed; those in the afternoon were generally +from seaward. + +A slight rise, even of ten feet, in the water beyond the tidal change, +must overflow a vast portion of such very low country; many evidences of +this having taken place were observed.* + +(*Footnote. At the entrance of Van Diemen's Inlet it is high-water on the +full and change of the moon at a quarter to seven; but in the upper part +the tides are three hours and a quarter later. The length of both flood +and ebb is twelve hours, and the direction of the former stream from the +northward, following the eastern shore of the Gulf.) + +NATIVE WELL. + +The formation of this part of the continent is of very recent date, as we +did not observe any rock; and the soil is chiefly alluvial. The only +fresh water found was at a native well, half a mile South-East from the +eastern entrance point of the inlet. + +In the morning of the 5th, the boats reached the ship. During our absence +a few natives had made their appearance on the beach, attending some +fires, it seemed, on a hunting excursion. Several grampuses were seen at +the anchorage, also many dugongs and turtles. + +In the evening the Beagle was standing across the Gulf towards Bountiful +Islands. I found that with the winds we had experienced the last few days +it would be the most expeditious way of completing our survey of the Gulf +to proceed at once to the head of it, as we should then have a fair wind, +to examine the coast back to Van Diemen's Inlet. + +I also resolved to ascertain if the supply of water that Flinders found +on Sweers Island was still to be obtained; and on our way thither +determined on visiting Bountiful Islands, where we arrived accordingly on +the morning of the 6th. The greatest depth we had in crossing the Gulf +was 15 fathoms, the nature of the bottom being a fine dark sandy mud. + +Bountiful Islands form the eastern part of a group called Wellesley +Islands, and were so named by Flinders from the great supply of turtle he +found there. As, however, it was two months before the season of their +visiting the shores, we only caught twelve, for the most part females. +Near the islands was noticed the same shrubby thick compact kind of +seaweed, that had previously been seen on the parts of the North-west +coast frequented by the turtle. Flinders speaks of finding here in one +turtle as many as 1,940 eggs; and such is their fecundity that were it +not for the destruction of the young by sharks and birds of prey, these +temperate seas would absolutely swarm with them. + +Our anchorage was in 7 fathoms, three quarters of a mile South-East from +the highest hill, which I called Mount Flinders; it stands close to the +beach, near the east end of the island, and is in latitude 16 degrees 40 +minutes 0 seconds South, longitude 7 degrees 45 minutes 25 seconds East +of Port Essington. + +BOUNTIFUL ISLANDS. + +Bountiful Islands, two in number, are distant a mile and a half in a +North-East direction from each other. The northern and largest is two +miles and a half long, and three-quarters of a mile wide; whilst the +other is rather more than half a mile each way, and has at the northern +end a mound with a remarkable casuarina tree on its summit. Both are +fronted with coral reefs, particularly at the North-East extreme; there +are some cliffs on the south-east side of the large island of sand and +ironstone formation, the latter prevailing; and over the low +north-western parts a ferruginous kind of gravel was scattered. The +crests of the hills or hillocks were of a reddish sort of sandstone, and +so honeycombed or pointed at the top that it was difficult to walk over +them. + +MOUNT FLINDERS. + +Near the landing-place, at the foot of Mount Flinders, were a few +isolated gum-trees, and small clusters of the casuarina, which were the +only trees on the northern island. Some drift timber was on the +south-east and north-west sides. On the latter was a tree of considerable +size, doubtless brought from the shore of the Gulf by the North-West +monsoon. Its whole surface was covered with a long brown kind of grass, +interwoven with creepers. There were great quantities of a +cinnamon-coloured bittern seen, as well as quails, doves, and large +plovers, but not any of the bustards mentioned by Flinders. We saw no +traces of land animals of any kind; neither did we of the natives. A +flock of screaming white cockatoos had taken up their abode on the south +island, where also some bulbs of the Angustifolia were found. A few small +fish, besides sharks, were caught alongside the ship. + +I was surprised to find the tides an hour later than at Van Diemen's +Inlet; their velocity, likewise, was increased to two knots; the +flood-stream came from the north-east at the anchorage. + +FOWLER ISLAND. + +July 7. + +At daylight, we left for Sweers Island; but owing to light winds, chiefly +easterly, did not reach Investigator Road, between Sweers and Bentinck +Islands, before the afternoon of the 8th. The soundings on the way were +generally 9 fathoms, fine sandy mud. A small islet, lying off the +South-East side of Bentinck Island, and forming the immediate eastern +side of the Road, I named after the first lieutenant of the Investigator, +now Captain Fowler. + +Under Mount Inspection, a hill 105 feet high, and the most remarkable +feature hereabouts, on the South-East extreme of Sweers Island, a party +of twelve natives was observed as we passed. They gazed silently at us, +making no demonstration of joy, fear, anger, or surprise. It is possible +they may have been stupefied by the appearance of that wonderful creation +of man's ingenuity--a ship; in their eyes it must have seemed a being +endowed with life walking the waters, for purposes to them +incomprehensible, on a mission to the discovery of which they could not +even apply the limited faculties they possessed. Fortunately or +unfortunately for them--according as we determine on the value of +civilization to the aboriginal races of the South--they did not possess +the fatal, or salutary, curiosity that prompts most men to attempt +fathoming the depth of whatever is mysterious. Restrained by their fears, +or by their ignorant, or philosophical indifference, they did not again +show themselves: and though when we landed we once or twice thought we +heard sounds of life in our vicinity, the natives of the island never +again came under our observation. It is remarkable that the same +circumstance happened to Flinders. He also perceived human beings at a +distance; but when he endeavoured to communicate with them, they retired, +as he mentions, to some of the caverns that exist on the island, and were +seen no more. + +SWEERS ISLAND. + +Sweers Island appeared to be very woody, and bounded by low dark cliffs +on the north-east side. We found a long extent of foul ground, with a dry +reef near its outer end, extending off two miles in a South 33 degrees +East direction from the South-East extreme. Our anchorage was in 5 1/2 +fathoms, nearly abreast of a remarkable and solitary sandy point on the +above-mentioned island. As we beat up, the navigable width between this +and Fowler Island was found to be one mile, and the depth 4 and 5 +fathoms. + +INVESTIGATOR'S WELL. + +A party was immediately despatched in search of the Investigator's well. +Previous to landing, the whole island appeared to be perfectly alive with +a dense cloud of small flying animals, which, on our reaching the shore, +proved to be locusts in countless numbers, forming a complete curtain +over the island. They rose from the ground in such prodigious flights at +each footstep that we were absolutely prevented from shooting any of the +quails with which the island abounds. This annoyance, however, was only +experienced for the first day or two, as the locusts winged their flight +to Bentinck Island, leaving the trees only laden with them; out of these +they started, when disturbed, with a rushing noise like surf on a pebbly +beach. + +FLINDERS' WELL. + +The Investigator's old well was discovered half a mile eastward of the +point, to which I gave the name of Point Inscription, from a very +interesting discovery we made of the name of Flinders' ship cut on a tree +near the well, and still perfectly legible, although nearly forty years +old, as the reader will perceive from the woodcut annexed. On the +opposite side of the trunk the Beagle's name and the date of our visit +were cut. + +It was thus our good fortune to find at last some traces of the +Investigator's voyage, which at once invested the place with all the +charms of association, and gave it an interest in our eyes that words can +ill express. All the adventures and sufferings of the intrepid Flinders +vividly recurred to our memory; his discoveries on the shores of this +great continent, his imprisonment on his way home, and cruel treatment by +the French Governor of Mauritius, called forth renewed sympathies. I +forthwith determined accordingly that the first river we discovered in +the Gulf should be named the Flinders, as the tribute to his memory which +it was best becoming in his humble follower to bestow, and that which +would most successfully serve the purpose of recording his services on +this side of the continent. Monuments may crumble, but a name endures as +long as the world. + +Being desirous of ascertaining if now, in the dry season, water could be +obtained in other parts of the island, I ordered a well to be dug on the +extreme of Point Inscription, a more convenient spot for watering a ship, +and at a depth of 25 feet met excellent water, pouring through a rock of +concreted sand, pebbles, and shells. + +Our success may be attributed, as Flinders says, to the clayey +consistence of the stratum immediately under the sand, and to the +gravelly rock upon which that stratum rests; the one preventing the +evaporation of the rains, and the other obstructing their further +infiltration. + +INVESTIGATOR ROAD. + +This was a very important discovery, as Investigator Road is the only +anchorage for vessels of all sizes at the head of the Gulf in either +monsoon, and possesses an equal supply of wood, fish, and birds, with +turtle close at hand on Bountiful Islands. Moreover, should an expedition +be formed for the purpose of exploring the interior from the head of the +Gulf, it is, as Flinders remarks, "particularly well adapted for a ship +during the absence of the travellers." In addition to this, it is a point +at which an expedition would first arrive to arrange plans for the +future; and lastly, I should observe that in case of our being fortunate +enough to find rivers or fertile country on the southern shores of the +Gulf, we at once saw that we might look forward to the time when +Investigator Road* should be the port from which all the produce of the +neighbouring parts of the continent must be shipped, and when it should +bear on its shores the habitations of civilized man, and the heavenward +pointing spires of the Christian Church. The feeling that we might be the +means of bringing about this happy state of things by discovering a +country habitable by Europeans, greatly added to the zest with which we +prosecuted our subsequent researches. + +(*Footnote. This road fully deserves the name of a good port, being four +miles in length by one in breadth, with a depth of from 4 to 6 fathoms, +and sheltered at all points except from south to South-South-East, in +which direction the shoalness of the water prevents any sea from getting +up.) + +SURVEY THE ANCHORAGE. + +On duly weighing these considerations in my mind I determined to make an +accurate survey of this anchorage, including Sweers and the eastern +portion of Bentinck Island; and to despatch two boats to examine the +group of islands to the north-west, and the mainland from thence to +abreast of the south-west end of Bentinck Island. On the morning of the +9th, accordingly, Messrs. Forsyth and Parker proceeded with the +whaleboats on this service. + +Near Point Inscription, I found a native skull on the shore, with +forearm, left tibia, and a portion of the inferior maxillary. They must +have been exposed some time, as they were very nearly destroyed by the +action of the air. How they could have come in this situation was a +mystery, as there was nothing indicating a place of burial. + +On the eastern Point of Bentinck Island a number of rafts were seen, +which suggested the name of Raft Point. We also on one occasion perceived +some natives at a distance. + +Mount Inspection being the highest land in the neighbourhood, became the +principal station of the survey. From it a glimpse was got of the +mainland, bearing South 17 degrees West about eighteen miles. The +north-eastern end of the island, also, could be seen, fronted with rocky +ledges extending three quarters of a mile off. This hill is a mass of +calcareous rock, similar to the high parts of Bountiful Island, with the +same honeycombed surface, as if it had been exposed to the action of the +sea. In other parts of the island there is a great quantity of ironstone; +and the cliffs on the eastern side are mixed with this and pipe-clay; on +the northern extreme are some lakes or swamps. + +SOIL, ETC. OF BENTINCK ISLAND. + +The soil is chiefly a mixture of sand and decomposed vegetable matter; +but it cannot boast of fertility. The wood on the island, which consisted +for the most part of gums, wattles, a few acacias, palms, and, near the +beach, a straggling casuarina or two, bespoke this by its stunted +appearance; but as cotton grows well at Port Essington, there can be +little doubt that it will thrive here. Several of the bustards spoken of +by Flinders, were noticed; but too wary to be killed. They were as large +as those seen in the neighbourhood of Port Phillip, but much browner. The +other birds, most common, will be found in an extract from the game book, +given in a future page. We saw no animals, except some large iguanas. + +Investigator Road is sheltered to the northward by shoal water stretching +across between Sweers and Bentinck islands. The latter is slightly +elevated, and thickly wooded; it is large in comparison with its +neighbours, being about ten miles in extent either way. Its south side is +much indented, and the projections as well as the extreme of Fowler +Island, are lined with mangroves; they are fronted with coral ledges. +Near the south-east point, I noticed large patches of the ferruginous +sort of gravel, before alluded to in King's Sound. + +On one occasion a party thought they heard a cooey--or cry peculiar to +the natives of Port Jackson--uttered by some of the aborigines in the +distance. It would have been exceedingly interesting to ascertain if this +actually was the case; as the sound generally emitted by the natives of +the northern coasts when they wish to communicate with each other afar +off, is the monotonous "oh! oh!" + +MR. FORSYTH'S REPORT. + +On the 13th the boats returned, having completed the work that had been +allotted them. Mr. Forsyth reported their proceedings as follows: Leaving +the north point of Bentinck Island, off which a reef extends nearly three +miles, they crossed over to the south end of Mornington Island, bearing +North 60 degrees West twenty-three miles, the depth, midway between being +7 and 8 fathoms. The south shore of this island was found to be low and +sandy, much indented, and fronted with reefs. From the south extreme, the +nearest part of the main, called Point Bayley, bore South 32 degrees West +eleven miles, the intervening space being occupied by four low isles, +which I named after Mr. Forsyth. With the exception of 5 fathoms two +miles south-west from the end of Mornington Island, the space between it +and the main is only navigable for boats; and westward of Forsyth +Islands, shoals, partly dry, extend off four miles from the main. + +POINT PARKER. + +From Point Bayley,* where we found a native well, the coast trended on +one hand North 73 degrees West, in which direction, at the distance of +two and four miles, were small openings in the low mangrove shore; +whilst, on the other, it trended South 53 degrees East with inlets two, +three, and six miles distant, and a point ten miles and a half from Point +Bayley, which was named after the officer in charge of one of the boats, +Point Parker. A hillock elevated about thirty feet, which was great for +this part of the continent, rendered it conspicuous. Like Point Bayley, +it is fronted with a rocky ledge, and has a sandy beach on the south +side. From Point Parker the coast trended south ten miles, which was the +furthest the boats reached; beyond, it appeared to take a more easterly +direction. + +(*Footnote. In latitude 16 degrees 35 minutes 10 seconds South, and +longitude 6 degrees 55 minutes 30 seconds East of Port Essington. ) + +The hillock on Point Parker, afforded Mr. Forsyth a slight view of the +interior: it was a vast plain with clumps of small trees interspersed +here and there; a growth of gums rose close behind the fringe of +mangroves that lined the coast to the southward, and in other places +constituted the only vegetable production of the country that could be +seen. Although there was little that could be called actually interesting +in the vast level that stretched away to an indefinite distance from +Point Parker, yet still, when the reflection presented itself that never +before had the eye of a European wandered over it, the feelings of the +exploring party were necessarily of a pleasing character. + +This projection in the coast brought it within thirteen miles of the east +end of Bentinck Island. Allen's Isle lay between at the distance of three +miles and a half; on some ironstone cliffs at the south-east end of it, +Mr. Forsyth, after leaving, saw some natives; he speaks of this island as +being more fertile than any other part visited, being clothed with rich +grass, and with small trees and shrubs of a very green appearance. + +APPEARANCE OF THE NATIVES. + +It was on a little island, two miles to the eastward of it, that Flinders +succeeded in obtaining an interview with a party of natives; two of whom, +he says, were of the great height of six feet three inches, but with +features similar to those on the south and east coasts. They were +deficient in two front teeth of the upper jaw; their hair was short but +not curly; and with the exception of a fillet of network worn round the +head of one of them, they had not a vestige of clothing. Two of the older +men of the party, Flinders was surprised to find had undergone the rite +of circumcision; they had rafts of precisely the same construction as +those in use on the North-west coast. + +On the 17th, very unusual gloomy weather was experienced, quite what we +should have expected from the opposite monsoon; indeed the wind was light +from the westward for a short time. The morning broke, however, with a +moderate South-South-East breeze, accompanied by constant heavy rain; the +temperature, before daylight, was 61 degrees. + +(*Footnote. Our observations place Point Inscription in latitude 17 +degrees 6 minutes 50 seconds South and longitude 7 degrees 28 minutes 30 +seconds East of Port Essington; variation, 4 degrees 35 minutes easterly: +the time of high-water at the full and change, was 8 A.M., when the tide +rose 9 feet; the stream changes to the northward two hours before +high-water. At other times the change takes place about one hour before. +The direction of the flood is South by West and that of the ebb North; +the strength of the former is from half a knot to one knot an hour, and +of the latter, three quarters of a knot to one and a half. Near the full +and change days there is no slack water; the northerly stream is then +longer by two hours: during the neaps they are more equal, each being of +twelve hours duration.) + +Our operations were completed by the 19th, but in consequence of strong +winds from the South-South-East we did not leave before the 21st; when, +beating out against a fresh breeze,* we stood over towards the main to +the south-west of Bentinck Island, but found the water so shallow that we +could not approach within eight miles. + +(*Footnote. The west point of Sweers Island, bearing North 10 degrees +East and the east point of Bentinck Island, North 8 degrees East mark the +limits of each board. The north-west part of Sweers Island just shut in +with Point Inscription leads in, and the dry part of the reef off the +south-east end of Sweers Island, bearing South 85 degrees East, clears +the reef off the south end of Sweers and Fowler Islands. A white patch of +cliff to the northward of Point Inscription, in one with it, leads over +the extreme of the shoal off the south-east end of Fowler Island.) + +PROCEED TO SURVEY THE MAIN. + +The boats were again sent, with Messrs. Fitzmaurice and Pasco, to +continue the examination of the shore of the Gulf, towards the head of +it, where they were to meet the ship. We made the best of our way +thither, after securing some soundings to the South-West of Sweers Island +and carrying a line eastwards from it, midway across the gulf, where we +found a very even dark sandy mud bottom, with a depth of 7 fathoms. + +THE SANDHILL. + +Strong south and south-east winds, which reduced the temperature, on one +occasion, to 56 degrees about 4 A.M., generally prevailed, excepting for +a few hours in the afternoon; quite reminding us of the winds we +experienced at Depuch Island on the North-west coast, and preventing us +from reaching our destination till the morning of the 24th, when we +anchored two miles and a quarter from a particularly bare sand hillock, +bearing South 53 degrees West. This was named The Sandhill, par +excellence; there being no other on the shore of the Gulf. To the +eastward there appeared an opening with a remarkable quoin-shaped clump +of tall mangroves at the entrance. It being neap tide, we were enabled to +take the ship thus close to the shore, and as it was the nearest approach +we could make to the head of the Gulf, another boat expedition was set on +foot to explore it, consisting of the yawl and gig, in which Lieutenant +Gore and myself left the ship the same afternoon. The first spot visited +was The Sandhill, which we found to be forty feet high, in latitude 17 +degrees 38 minutes 20 seconds South, longitude 7 degrees 48 minutes 00 +seconds East of Port Essington. From its summit we immediately perceived +that our conjecture was right respecting the opening close to the +eastward. The shore was sandy to the westward, a remarkable circumstance, +considering that nearly everywhere else all was mangrove. Whatever we saw +of the interior, appeared to be low patches of bare mud, which bespoke +frequent inundations. We could also trace a low mangrove shore forming +the head of the Gulf, without any appearance of a large opening, which +was a bitter disappointment; in some measure, however, compensated by the +fact that it was all new, Flinders having expressed himself doubtful how +far back the shore lay. + +DISASTER INLET. + +The point on which The Sandhill is situated I called after Lieutenant +Gore, and the inlet, which we entered just before dark, Disaster Inlet, +from a circumstance of what may be called a tragical nature which +happened in it. Like all the other inlets, as we afterwards found, it had +a bar scarcely passable at low-water for boats; but within there was a +depth of two and three fathoms. It appears that the streams passing out +of these openings groove out a channel in the great flat fronting the +shores for from one to three miles; but as the distance from their mouths +increased, the velocity and consequent strength of the stream diminished +in proportion, and, as we afterwards found, at this season was never +strong enough to force a channel the entire way through the flat or bank +at the entrance, which was thrown out in consequence further from the +shore. The projection thus formed in the great flat indicated the +importance of the inlet. + +We passed the night a mile within the mouth of Disaster Inlet, and next +morning, which was cool and bracing enough for a latitude twenty degrees +further south, we followed its upward course, which was more westerly +than suited our impatience to proceed direct into the interior. Four +miles and a half from the entrance, in a straight line, though ten by the +distance the boats had gone, we came on a reach trending south. This +improvement in the course was equally felt by all, as was shown by the +bending of the oars to the eager desire of the crew to push on; but +scarcely had the boats glided midway through the hitherto untraversed +piece of water, when the tragical event occurred, which the name of the +inlet serves to recall, although it is too deeply engraven on the +memories of both actors and spectators ever to be forgotten. + +COCKATOOS. + +The mangroves that in patches fringed the banks, whilst all besides was +one flat grassy plain, were literally whitened with flocks of noisy +cockatoos, giving the trees an appearance as if they were absolutely +laden with huge flakes of snow--a somewhat remarkable aspect for a scene +in such a clime to wear. It seemed as if the rigid hand of winter had for +once been permitted to visit with its icy touch this tropical land; but +the verdure of all around, the serenity of the heavens, warm with the +fervid beams of the sun that gilded the rippling waters of the reach, +dispelled the illusion. And soon the huge masses of white plumage began +to float from tree to tree across the reach, whilst their screams as they +flew by seemed a fair challenge to the sportsman. Mr. Gore accordingly +resolved to secure a few of them for dinner, and put out his gun for the +purpose. + +NARROW ESCAPE. + +The sudden arrest of the birds' flight--the flash of the gun--the volume +of smoke--caught the eye as it closed at the explosion; with some of us +it might have been for ever! Twas the affair of but a second. Death came +to our sides, as it were, and departed ere the report of the gun had +ceased to roll over the waters of the reach. Something whizzed past my +ear, deafening and stupefying me for a moment--the next I saw my +much-valued friend Gore stretched at his length in the bottom of the +boat, and I perceived at a glance the danger we had incurred and +providentially escaped. + +ACCIDENT TO LIEUTENANT GORE. + +His fowling piece had burst in his hand, and flown away in fragments, +leaving only a small portion of the barrel at my feet. How it happened +that the coxswain and myself were unhurt seemed a miracle. I was on the +right of Mr. Gore, in the stern-sheets of the yawl, and the coxswain was +a little on the left, and over him, steering. Our preservation can only +be attributed to Him whose eye is on all his creatures and who disposes +of our lives as it seemeth good in his sight. Without intending to be +presumptuous, we may be permitted to believe that we were spared partly +on account of the service in which we were engaged--so beneficial to +humanity, so calculated to promote the spread of civilization, which must +ever be the harbinger of Christianity. At any rate it is not, in my +humble opinion, any impeachment of the wisdom of the Almighty, to imagine +that he determines the fortunes of men according to the work in which +they are engaged. + +Mr. Gore's hand was dreadfully lacerated; but no bones were broken; and +on recovering from his swoon, the first words he uttered were: "Killed +the bird!"--an expression truly characteristic of a sportsman, and +evincing how exactly the mind, when its perception has been momentarily +suspended, reverts, on recovering, to the idea last present to it. + +My first impulse was to return to the ship; but at the earnest request of +Mr. Gore, who felt somewhat revived after I washed his hand in brandy and +tied it up, we continued; but the utter silence and grave demeanour of +all showed that each was occupied with thoughts of the danger some of us +had escaped of being ushered unprepared into the presence of our Maker. A +rustling in the bushes on the bank, as we wound round an island of some +size at the extremity of this nearly fatal reach, broke the reverie in +which we were indulging. Fancying it was a kangaroo, I fired at the spot, +when a half-grown wild dog came rolling down into the water. It was of a +dark brown colour, with large patches of white, differing from any of the +kind I had ever seen before. + +Above this island we pursued a general West-South-West direction; but to +our great mortification there was water for the yawl only four miles +further. In the gig I was able to ascend nearly two miles higher in a +South-West by South direction. Our position was then nine miles +South-West 1/2 West from the mouth in a direct line; but thrice that +distance by the meandering course of the inlet through this vast level. +The width had decreased from three hundred yards at the entrance to +scarcely one hundred, and the depth from two fathoms to a quarter. The +banks were, at intervals fringed with mangroves, the country behind being +very open plains, with patches of dwarf gums scattered here and there. + +DUCKS, PIGEONS, ETC. + +The brown whistling wood-ducks were in great abundance at the yawl's +furthest; and in three shots I bagged twenty. The native companions were +also numerous, of two kinds, one with black on the back, and the other, +which kept more on the plain, of a blue or slate colour. Pigeons, too, +were abundant; and the rare large brown rail was frequently observed at +low-water, running along the edge of the mangroves, too wary, however, as +before, to be shot. There were few alligators seen; and the only fish +caught was the catfish, common in the Adelaide and Victoria Rivers. Where +the yawl lay the bank was clear, forming cliffs ten feet high, in which +no stone or rock was found; neither had we seen any before. + +ARRANGE FOR A PEDESTRIAN EXCURSION. + +In the evening and early part of the night observations were made for our +position.* A party was also arranged for a pedestrian excursion in the +morning, as I was determined on seeing a few miles more of the interior +than it was our good fortune to have obtained by water conveyance. I had +ordered a gun to be fired in the evening to inform Mr. Fitzmaurice and +his party of the ship's position; and we distinctly heard it booming over +the plain, for the first time awakening the echoes to the sounds of +warfare peculiar to civilized man. May many years elapse ere they be once +more roused by the voice of cannon fired with a less peaceful intent! + +(*Footnote. Latitude 17 degrees 42 minutes 55 seconds South, longitude 7 +degrees 42 minutes 30 seconds East of Port Essington.) + +July 25. + +The first grey streaks of the morning were scarcely visible in the +horizon, ere my party were scrambling up the eastern bank, eager to +penetrate where no European foot had hitherto pressed. After leaving the +inlet some distance behind, we took a South 1/2 East direction. The +morning was deliciously cool for our purpose, the temperature being 56 +degrees; and there was a most delightful elasticity in the air, quite in +unison with the buoyant spirits that sustained us, as we stepped out over +what we felt to be untrodden ground. + +APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. + +It had often before been my lot to be placed in a similar position, and I +have necessarily, therefore, given expression already to identical +sentiments; but I cannot refrain from again reminding the reader how far +inferior is the pleasure of perusing the descriptions of new lands, +especially when attempted by an unskilled pen, to that which the explorer +himself experiences. All are here on an equal footing; the most finished +writer and the most imperfect scribbler are on the same level; they are +equally capable of the exquisite enjoyment of discovery, they are equally +susceptible of the feelings of delight that gush upon the heart as every +forward step discloses fresh prospects, and brings a still more new +horizon, if I may so speak, to view. And it may be added, that to the +production of the emotions I allude to, beauty of landscape is scarcely +necessary. We strain forward incited by curiosity, as eagerly over an +untrodden heath, or untraversed desert, as through valleys of surpassing +loveliness, and amid mountains of unexplored grandeur; or perhaps, I +should say, more eagerly, for there is nothing on which the mind can +repose, nothing to tempt it to linger, nothing to divert the current of +its thoughts. Onward we move, with expectation at its highest, led by the +irresistible charm of novelty, almost panting with excitement, even when +every step seems to add certainty to the conviction that all that is +beyond resembles all that has been seen. In the present case, with the +exception of a clump of trees to the southward, there was nothing to +break the vast level that stretched before us, its rim sharply defined +against the morning sky. Here and there a charred stump, the relic of +some conflagration, reared its blackened face, serving to keep us in the +direction we had taken at starting, which was over a rich alluvial soil, +that seemed to hold out a promise of a future brilliant destiny to this +part of the continent. A partially dry lagoon communicating with another +that was wet, to the eastward, and with a slight drain from the inlet to +the westward, was crossed at the distance of four miles, when the +direction we pursued was changed to South by West and a mile further we +gained the raised patch of woodland already mentioned, where we put up a +small light-coloured kangaroo. Descending from this we entered a low +plain, the northern part of which is evidently at times under water. It +is five miles across, surrounded with trees of small and open growth. +Continuing over a clayey soil till we had made six miles from the boats, +we turned off to the eastward, for the wood on that side, distant two +miles, with the hope of getting a better view of the country around from +the top of a tree; but there was nothing for my eager eyes to wander over +but alternate plain and patches of stunted wood, stretching away in +unbroken monotony on every side. The furthest we saw of this new country +was in latitude 17 degrees 55 minutes South. It was with great reluctance +that we turned our backs on a route so direct to the interior of the +continent, now comparatively a proximate point; and the tide of animal +spirits that flowed so high during our advance to the southward ebbed +rapidly as soon as the retreat commenced; and our return appeared +wearisome. + +We now varied our track, and traced the head of the inlet, where we saw +the smokes of the natives and heard them shouting to each other, though +they did not come in sight; the prints of their feet also seemed quite +recent. Near the partially dry lagoon a small freshwater lake was found, +and the only rock formation yet seen; it was a sand and ironstone. About +two miles south of the boats we discovered another freshwater lake, +literally alive with waterfowl, whose varied colours contrasted +charmingly with the bright verdure of the banks that seemed to repose on +the silent waters, and were reflected on its glassy surface, now and then +disturbed by the birds as they winged their way from one part to the +other. Spoonbills and ibises, some white and some glossy rifle-green, and +two kinds of a small grey duck, seen once only before on the Victoria, +are among those worth enumerating. In the afternoon we got back to the +boats. I may here mention, that as in Van Diemen's Inlet, the water +appeared to be less salt at low tide. + +RETURN TO THE SHIP. + +July 26. + +At daylight the boats moved off on their return; and soon after the sun's +bright orb had sunk into the same vast dead level from which it rose, we +reached the entrance. Being anxious that the surgeon should see Mr. +Gore's hand, I sent the gig on with him to the ship; next morning, as we +crossed the bar, he rejoined us, and I was very happy to find the +ablution in brandy had been of great service to his wound. + +After leaving Disaster Inlet, the coast was examined to the eastward, and +at the distance of fifteen miles, in an East 5 degrees South direction, +we came to a projection that we called Middle Point. The shore between +fell back, forming a bight three miles deep, in latitude 17 degrees 44 +minutes South, the most southern shore of the Gulf. A growth of mangroves +prevented our landing at high-water, and at low, soft mud flat fronted +the shore for the distance of a mile and more. Five miles from Disaster +Inlet there was a small creek; with others, three, four, and six miles +westward of Middle Point. + +MORNING INLET. + +Two miles south-east of it was another opening of more importance, almost +forming a channel quite through the flat at the entrance, which extended +three miles off the north-west side of Middle Point. I named this Morning +Inlet, from the time at which I entered it; and after proceeding a mile +in a southerly direction landed for observations, just within the +mangroves that fringe the entire coast. My view of the interior was very +limited: for some distance were patches of bare mud, whitened with a salt +incrustation, which appeared the character of the country immediately +behind the mangroves; afterwards it rose into plains, on which small +gum-trees were to be seen in the distance. + +From Morning Inlet the coast was slightly waving and trended East 20 +degrees North. At the end of twelve miles we found a little opening on +the south-east side of a small point which concealed the boats from two +natives, who were out on the mud flats, till we got close to them. They +gazed for a moment at the strange apparition, and then made off as fast +as the nature of the ground would admit; they were quite naked, and we +were not a little amused to see them floundering through the soft mud. +Close to the westward of this opening are two clumps of tall mangroves, +the only remarkable objects on the shore of the Gulf from Disaster Inlet. +There was another small inlet four miles further on; and what is +remarkable for this neighbourhood, a sandy beach midway between them. + +EXPLORE AN OPENING. + +On the evening of the 28th we entered a large and promising opening,* +distant twenty-one miles from Morning Inlet; its importance was made +manifest by its forming a channel of two feet at low-water through the +flat at the entrance, which it threw out considerably. + +(*Footnote. The mouth is in latitude 17 degrees 36 minutes 40 seconds +South, and longitude 8 degrees 27 minutes 0 seconds East of Port +Essington.) + +The boats proceeded up the opening at daylight on the 29th; our hopes +were considerably raised by finding a depth of three and, in some places, +five fathoms, and a width of about a hundred and twenty yards. The banks +were, as usual, lined with mangroves; behind which, on the eastern side, +retreated vast plains, with trees of some size scattered over them. They +extend to the coast eastward of the entrance, which is sandy for some +distance, with casuarinae, acacias, and small gums, which was not only a +pleasing change from the monotonous mangrove shore, but had also its +utility, serving to show the mouth of the opening from the offing. + +We pursued a general South-South-East direction, though from the +windings, and the tide being against us, our progress was slow; and at +the end of eleven miles were obliged to wait its changing. Here we landed +in the mouth of a small creek at the end of a clear bank on the eastern +side; the opposite one also began to wear the same character, and our +eyes therefore were permitted to wander over an immense extent of very +level open grassy country, dotted with clumps of trees. + +The tides changing only twice in twenty-four hours presented a great +impediment to our exploration, and it was evening before we could again +move onwards. + +AUSTRALIAN CUCKOO. + +Whilst waiting the tide, the note of a bird resembling the cuckoo broke +the deep stillness that prevailed. It was evening; all around was calm: +the wide extended plain dimly stretching away on every side, the waters +as they imperceptibly swelled between the curving banks, the heavens in +which the last rays of the sun still lingered, gilding the few clouds +that hovered near the horizon. A pleasing sadness stole over the heart as +these familiar sounds--the note of this Australian cuckoo, if I may +venture to name a bird from its voice--floated through the tranquil air. +Recollections of the domestic hearth, and the latticed window shaded with +vines and honeysuckles, and the distant meadows, and glades, and +woodlands, covered with the bursting buds of spring; and--pervading all +and giving a charm to all--the monotonous but ever welcome and thrilling +note of the cuckoo sounding afar off: recollections of all these things, +I say, rushed o'er each fancy, and bore us for a moment back in +imagination to our island home. + +DISCOVERY OF FLINDERS RIVER. + +The more rapid flow of the tide and the announcement that there was now +sufficient water for the boats to proceed, broke our reverie; and we were +soon once more cleaving the moonlit reach. I may here mention that this +bird, and another with a more mournful cry, the same before spoken of up +the Victoria River, were heard again at eventide. + +Avoiding a large shoal, which threatened to arrest our further progress, +by a narrow channel close to the west bank, we continued to pursue the +upward course of this inlet or river--we were yet uncertain what to call +it--in a general southerly direction; though the reaches were singularly +tortuous, resembling the folds of a snake. The depth was now only about +one fathom, and our progress was much impeded by banks; but by the +friendly aid of the moon we were able to proceed, and many of the sudden +bends were revealed by the silvery stream of light it shed over the still +waters as they lay between banks now overhung by mangrove thickets, now +receding in plains dotted with gloomy clumps of gumtrees, as far as the +eye, from our low position and by the imperfect light afforded, could +reach. As we advanced, the measured plash of the oars frightened from +their roosting places in the trees, a huge flock of screeching vampires, +that disturbed for a time the serenity of the scene by their discordant +notes; and a few reaches further up, noisy flights of our old friends, +the whistling-ducks, greeted our ears. Their presence and cries were +hailed with delight, not exactly because they gave rise to any romantic +associations, but because they promised to recruit our victualling +department, which had not been supplied with such dainties since leaving +Disaster Inlet. Had our taste resembled that of some of the natives of +the western coast of Africa, the vampires would have answered our +purpose. + +The yawl grounding repeatedly, occasioned so much delay, that after +proceeding seven miles I pushed on with the gig alone. Our course was +still South by East and the reaches were less crooked. Four miles further +we were delighted to find our progress rendered hazardous by sunken +trees, so much so indeed, that I was most reluctantly obliged to wait a +few hours for daylight. There could now no longer be a doubt that we were +in a river, and I immediately embraced the opportunity of gratifying my +earnest and heartfelt desire of paying the promised tribute to our +scientific predecessor; and accordingly named this, our first discovery, +after him, The Flinders. + +As soon as the blackened heads of the fallen trees, evidences of how +fierce a torrent had borne them hither, could be discerned, we proceeded. +The reaches became again tortuous, but we still made some progress. The +mangroves were no longer to be seen fringing the banks with their garden +shrubbery appearance. In a broad easterly reach, some natives were +burning the country close to the west bank, but they did not show +themselves. At the end of it the river expanded into a beautiful sheet of +water a quarter of a mile in width, though only three feet deep. + +ACCIDENT TO THE BOAT. + +Some low grassy islets were scattered here and there, reposing in emerald +verdure on the surface of the stream, which was reverting under the +influence of the tide, towards its source, and now hurried the boat so +rapidly through a narrow channel between the west side of a large island +and a low line of earthy cliffs, as to carry her foul of a submerged tree +and half fill and almost capsize her. In order to ascertain the extent of +the damage, we landed on a small sandy beach, in which was the fresh +print of a native's foot; but we neither heard nor saw him or his +companions, although columns of smoke from their fires stole upwards +through the calm still air on all sides. A fine sheet of water now lay +before us, trending southwards for upwards of two miles, with a width of +about a quarter; and it was with increasing interest and anxiety that we +pulled up it. + +APPEARANCE OF THE RIVER. + +Passing a line of cliffs, twenty feet high, the banks became green and +grassy, descending with an almost imperceptible slope into the stream, +and blending with their vivid reflections so as to render it difficult to +determine where was the point of contact. It seemed as if we were gliding +through an indefinite expanse of limpid water reposing between two vast +plains, that here rose higher than we had before seen the land on this +part of the continent. + +Hurrying on with a still favourable tide, but at a rate much too slow for +our impatience, we passed two other small grassy islets, and a third was +before us. The eastern bank had become steep, overhanging, and clothed +with a mass of luxuriant creepers; whilst on the opposite side was a low +woody patch, partly immersed by the lake-like glassy water of the river, +into which one slender tree dipped its feathery crest, appearing like +another Narcissus, to admire its own beauty in the stream. In front, the +eye could penetrate far down the reach hemmed in as it was by trees that +clustered thick on the water's brink. + +NATIVE BURIAL TREE. + +To the right was what might be called an open glade; in the midst of it +rose a tree the branches of which were laden with a most singular looking +bundle or roll of pieces of wood. Struck with its appearance, we rested +on our oars to observe it;* but scarcely had we done so, when from a +point higher up, that appeared to divide the river into two branches, +rose a thick volume of smoke that soon filled the air, as if a huge black +cloud had lighted on the earth in that direction. We endeavoured to +proceed in order to satisfy our curiosity, but a rocky ledge extending +across the river arrested our further progress at this time of the tide. +Landing, accordingly, I advanced for nearer inspection, towards the huge +bundle of sticks before mentioned. It seemed almost like the nest of some +new bird, and greatly excited my curiosity. As I approached a most +unpleasant smell assailed me; and on climbing up to examine it narrowly, +I found that it contained the decaying body of a native. + +(*Footnote. See the view annexed. ) + +Within the outer covering of sticks was one of net, with an inner one of +the bark of the papyrus tree enveloping the corpse. According to the +singular practice of uncivilized people, of providing for the wants of +those who have nothing more to do with earthly things, some weapons were +deposited with the deceased in this novel kind of mortuary habitation; +and a little beyond was a rill of water. + +There was an air of loneliness in the spot, perfectly in keeping with the +feelings this strange discovery naturally called forth; and from the few +recent signs of the natives, it would appear that here, as in other parts +of the continent, spots where the dead lie are kept sacred. Some dark +brown and black hawks were perched on the trees near, looking like so +many mutes stationed to show respect to the departed; but their +intentions were of a different character, as they were waiting, I +imagine, for some friendly gust of wind to shake off the covering of the +deceased. + +EXTENSIVE CONFLAGRATION. + +While we were making these observations, the conflagration on the point +above continued to rage with great fury; and I have no doubt that it was +kindled in order to attract our attention and prevent us from visiting +this sacred spot. Though we saw not the form of a living being, I am +persuaded that the eyes of the natives were upon us, and that our every +movement was watched. The method they adopted to lure us away from the +neighbourhood of the dead was simple and ingenious, and might have proved +successful had not the interposing ledge of rocks prevented our further +progress. To effect their purpose they must have burnt up a very large +space, as the smoke that arose obscured all that quarter of the heavens. +We observed also that the ground about the burial tree had been submitted +to the flames, as if to keep away the few kangaroos that visit this spot. + +This singular mode of disposing of the dead among the aborigines of +Australia, extends to the banks of the Murray River, on the south coast, +as we learn from Mr. Eyre's vivid narrative; and as we know that it +exists in New Guinea, we may fairly infer that so far we can trace the +migration of the population of the fifth division of the globe.* + +(*Footnote. It is a curious circumstance to observe that the same custom +prevailed among the ancient Scythians, as we learn from Mr. St. John's +History of the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Greeks volume 3 page +345.) + +REMARKS ON NATIVE RITES. + +I have always considered that Eastern and Western Australia were +originally separated by the sea; and that when they were thus separated +(which the narrow space, and as I conjecture, lowness of the country +between the Gulf of Carpentaria and Lake Torrens fully bears out) the +habits of what is now the northern side of the continent found their way +to the southern. It is true I have in another place conjectured, that in +cases where similar habits are found to prevail at widely distant points, +they may be looked upon as relics of a former universal state of things, +now preserved only in particular localities; yet without invalidating +this general rule, I think that the facts of the mode of burial I have +described, and likewise the rite of circumcision, existing in the bottom +of the Gulf of Carpentaria, and on the south side of the continent, +strongly support the opinion that there once existed water communication +between them. + +However this may be, the discovery we had made highly interested the +whole party, and suggested the name of Burial Reach for that part of the +river. Knowing, or at least feeling, that we were narrowly watched by +those into whose territories we had penetrated, I did not venture far +inland. In the few miles traversed there was little of interest, except +that we felt the pleasure which almost surpasses that created by beauty +of scenery, of traversing a country totally new to the European. It is +astonishing how charming mere plains covered with clumps of trees appear +under such circumstances. But this feeling can be enjoyed but once; for +it is the explorer alone who can either experience or deserve it. + +This part of the country, though to all appearance equally level with any +other, was higher, and may perhaps have attained to the elevation of +thirty-five feet above the level of the sea. Over the plains were +scattered flocks of beautiful rose-coloured cockatoos, several of which I +shot; they were precisely the same as those on the southern parts of the +continent. + +Beyond Burial Reach the river separates into two branches, one taking an +easterly and the other a southerly direction; but neither of them, +unfortunately, was it at that time in my power to explore. Here we again, +for the second time only, met with a rocky formation: it was of a red +ferruginous character. Our furthest position on the Flinders was in +latitude 17 degrees 51 minutes South in a general South by East 1/2 East +direction from the entrance, nearly thirty miles by the distance the +boats had traversed. + +MOVE DOWN THE RIVER. + +After noon observations, the gig moved down the river. On passing the +large island, I shot an animal resembling a water-rat, of large +dimensions, particularly expanded across the loins, with stout hind legs +and palmated feet, of a light slate colour and soft fine hair approaching +fur, the colour gradually becoming lighter under the abdomen; the head +was flatter than that of the usual tribe of water-rats, and resembled an +otter.* + +(*Footnote. There is a species of water-rat inhabiting the coast of +Australia, called Hydromys chrysogaster; but this was the first time we +met with anything like it.) + +RETURN TO THE SHIP. + +It was not until long after dark that we reached the mouth, where, +meeting the yawl, both boats ran out of the river on their return to the +ship, distant thirty-three miles. The prevalence of light winds made it +noon before we got on board, when I found that in consequence of the +tides approaching the springs and falling 12 instead of 6 feet, it had +been necessary to move the ship farther off. + +During our absence light winds had prevailed; on several days land and +seabreezes. The cessation of strong southerly winds kept the temperature +about 60 degrees. Mr. Fitzmaurice had returned and gave the following +account of his examination. + +MR. FITZMAURICE'S EXPLORATION. + +Commencing at Mr. Forsyth's furthest, he found the southerly trend of the +coast change in the course of nine miles to the eastward, forming a large +shoal bay, which at low-water had a mud flat extending off nearly two +miles. The east point of this bay, named Point Tarrant,* I had seen from +the south-east end of Sweers Island, bearing South 17 degrees West +eighteen miles. It is rendered remarkable by a slight rise in the land +behind it, forming low mounds or hillocks. Two miles to the westward Mr. +Fitzmaurice discovered an inlet, which he followed a league in a general +south-west direction, when it had in no way lost the promising appearance +it possessed from its breadth at the mouth, which was further increased +by the manner in which the bank was thrown out off it. + +(*Footnote. After one of the officers who had shared all the hard work, a +practice generally adopted.) + +Nine miles further westward were two other small openings. Mr. +Fitzmaurice's exploration terminated seventeen miles South 56 degrees +East from Point Tarrrant, where another inlet was found of still greater +magnitude and importance. The coast between fell back slightly, forming +two shallow bights with the usual low monotonous mangrove shores, and +extensive frontage of mud. At the distance of six and ten miles from +Point Tarrant were two other inlets, the latter of which was large and +received Mr. Pasco's name. It was examined for a short distance in a +South by West direction, and presented the usual low banks lined with +mangroves. Near the entrance a native came down to the shore to look at +the boat; he was very tall and quite naked, and would not allow our party +to approach. + + +CHAPTER 2.9. GULF OF CARPENTARIA. + +Boat expedition. +Explore an opening. +Discovery of the Albert. +Natives. +Picturesque Scenery. +Hope Reach. +Birds and Fishes. +Upper Branch. +Beauty of the Landscape. +Land excursion. +The Plains of Promise. +Halt the party and proceed alone. +Description of the country. +Return down the Albert. +Mouth of River. +Arrive at Van Diemen's Inlet. +Find Mr. Fitzmaurice severely wounded. +General result of the survey of the Gulf. +Winds and Temperature. +Booby Island. +Endeavour Strait. +Reach Port Essington. + +ANOTHER BOAT EXPEDITION. + +Mr. Fitzmaurice reported so favourably of the last opening he discovered, +bearing West by South fifteen miles from the ship, that I determined on +making up a party to explore it, while another expedition, consisting of +the yawl and whaleboat, was to examine the coast to the eastward from +Flinders River to Van Diemen's Inlet. My party, including Lieutenant Gore +and Messrs. Forsyth and Dring, left the ship with the gig and the other +whaleboat on the evening of the day we returned from the Flinders. + +The prospect that lay before us raised our spirits to the highest; and +the weather, clear, cool, and bracing, could not have been more +favourable, the temperature being 60 degrees. The ripples rolled rapidly, +expanding from the boat's bows over the glassy smooth surface of the +water, whilst the men stretched out as if unconscious of the exertion of +pulling, every one of them feeling his share of the excitement. From the +western sky the last lingering rays of the sun shot athwart the wave, +turning it, as it were, by the alchemy of light into a flood of gold. +Overhead, the cope of heaven was gradually growing soberer in hue from +the withdrawal of those influences which lately had warmed and brightened +it; but in the west a brilliant halo encircled the declining ruler of the +day. In these latitudes the sunset is as brief as it is beautiful. Night +rapidly came on, and presently the masts of the ship could no longer be +discerned, and we were pursuing our way in darkness towards the mouth of +the opening. + +After vainly endeavouring to get over the bank extending off the mouth of +the opening, in the dark, we anchored the boats outside. The awnings were +spread, and the kettle for our evening's meal was soon hissing over a +blazing fire. Of all things tea is the most refreshing after a day of +fatigue; there is nothing that so soon renovates the strength, and cheers +the spirits; and on this occasion especially, we experienced a due +portion of its invigorating effects. Grog was afterwards served out, +pipes and cigars were lighted, the jest was uttered, the tale went round; +some fished, though with little success; and the officers busied +themselves with preparations for the morrow's work. But all things must +end; the stories at length flagged; the fishermen grew tired; and getting +into our blanket bags, with a hearty good night, we resigned ourselves, +with the exception of the look-out, to the arms of slumber. + +EXPLORE AN OPENING. + +July 30. + +The morning broke with a strong breeze from South-South-East and although +the temperature was not below 52 degrees, we were all shivering with +cold. Soon after daylight we entered the opening, which for three miles +was almost straight, in a South by West direction, with a width of two +hundred yards, and a depth of from 2 1/2 to 5 fathoms. The banks were +fringed with mangroves, behind which stretched extensive mud flats, which +from being encrusted with salt and glistening in the sun were mistaken at +first for sheets of water. + +The inlet now became slightly tortuous, pursuing a general South-West by +South direction; but the width being greater our hopes rose as we +proceeded. Eight miles from the mouth two islands were passed, and two +others four miles further on. The breadth at this point was nearly a +mile, but the depth was scarcely two fathoms; one less than we had before +found it. The above-mentioned islets, one of which was of some size, lay +at the upper end of a reach, trending south, where this inlet or river, +as we anxiously hoped it would prove to be, divided into two branches, +one continuing in a southerly direction, and the other turning short off +to the westward. + +EXAMINE THE SOUTHERN BRANCH. + +Though the latter had a greater volume of water passing through it than +the other, I still, from the direction and size of the south arm, decided +on ascending it first. For some distance the banks had been less fringed +with mangroves, leaving clear patches covered with coarse grass. The +trees on the side of the first reach in the southerly arm were laden with +the snowy plumage of a large flock of cockatoos. After proceeding about +five miles further we rested a few hours, continuing again soon after +midnight. As the tides run twelve hours each way, it was necessary that +we should take advantage of the favourable stream, whatever might be the +hour, though this plan kept the men for a very long time together at the +oars. + +The general direction we pursued was still south, for six miles by the +windings of the stream, which was so reduced in breadth and volume, as to +be scarcely a hundred yards wide, and not a fathom deep. There was now +little hope that it would lead into fresh water, although, from the +number of trials that were made, I am sure there was salt water enough +drunk to have physicked a whole village. + +APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. + +The banks were still of the same monotonous character. In one of the +reaches I was fortunate enough to shoot a specimen of the large wary +brown-coloured rail I have before mentioned. From this, the only one +obtained, it has been described as Eulabeornis castaneoventris. It is +doubtless the bird called by the Port Essington natives, Morduggera, the +eggs only of which were found there, the bird itself not having been +seen. They were equal in size to those of a guineafowl, of a dirty white, +finely speckled with reddish brown. + +Our course now changed to south-west, and as the width and tortuousness +began to decrease--a sure indication that the country was rising--we soon +made another six miles. But after this the boats could no further +proceed--the inlet, in short, having become a mere ditch at low-water. +The head of a large alligator was found on the bank near the upper part; +where might be seen an occasional acacia mingled with the mangroves. +Behind, the country was very open, consisting of plains covered with +coarse grass, interspersed with patches of dwarf gums. About seven miles +in an East by North direction the country was thickly wooded, and +appeared to be a little higher--the only interruption to the level +monotony of the portion of the continent by which we were surrounded. The +soil was of a light brown colour void of sand, and of considerable depth. + +Nothing now remained but to retrace our steps and try the other branch; +and as our want of success in this case rather heightened our expectation +we hurried back with some rapidity. It was dark before we reached the +point of separation, where the boat's crew regaled themselves on some +large brown hawks, in the absence of better fowl. There was this evening +a beautiful eclipse of the moon. The temperature had again fallen to 60 +degrees; at noon it was 87 degrees; and at four A.M. 52 degrees. + +August 1. + +As time and tide wait for no man we were obliged to move off at one in +the morning. The earth's shadow having passed over the moon, the pale +light of her full orb fell in a silvery stream on the tortuous reaches, +as the waters swelled in silence between the growth of mangroves fringing +the banks. + +DISCOVERY OF THE ALBERT. + +At the end of three miles in a West by South direction, nearly double by +the windings, we passed an island on the left. The depth at low-water, so +far, being nearly 2 fathoms, and the width about 250 yards, promised +well. Water-tasting had now become rather out of fashion. However, it so +happened that one of the whaler's crew put his hand over, and gave us the +delightful news that the stream was quite fresh! A general tasting +followed, each being anxious to get the first draught of the water of our +new-found river; and the agreeable intelligence was confirmed. Of the +importance of our discovery there could now no longer be any doubt, and +the exhilarating effect it produced on all was quite magical, every arm +stretching out as if the fatigue they had experienced had suddenly passed +away. + +There could be little difficulty in finding a name for our new discovery. +We had already called two rivers, explored by the Beagle's officers, the +Victoria and the Adelaide; and we were glad of such an opportunity of +again showing our loyalty to Her Majesty, by conferring the name of her +noble consort upon this important stream; it was accordingly christened +The Albert. + +The boats now glided rapidly onwards, and West by North another mile +brought us to three islands, which we passed on the right; after landing +for observations, with the stars Achernar and Aldebaran, at some earthy +cliffs ten feet high on the left bank. The river now wound round a point +to the westward, three-quarters of a mile wide; in the first bend we +passed four islands on the right, with a creek on either side, and +towards the end of the next, two more on the left. + +CHANGE IN THE VEGETATION. + +August 2. + +Daylight now burst upon us with tropical rapidity. The banks had assumed +a very different appearance; the monotonous mangroves had given place to +gumtrees and acacias, which drooped over the stream, partly concealing a +rich growth of large flags. This change in the character of the foliage +was not only in itself a relief, but evinced that we had at length, in +some sort, escaped the influence of the sea, and that we were in reality +penetrating towards the interior of the continent. + +Our course was now North-West 1/2 West for a mile and a half, with an +increase in the width, and a depth of nine feet. Here we found the river +suddenly turn round to the southward and eastward, bringing us back +within five hundred yards of where we started from, which was one mile +West by South 1/2 South from the morning's observation spot. Brown +whistling wood-ducks now made their appearance, and being unaccustomed to +man and his destructive weapons, allowed us to revel in wildfowl for some +days afterwards. + +PROCEED UP THE ALBERT. + +The morning sun was hailed with delight, as sitting cramped up in a boat, +with the unusually low temperature of 53 degrees made us very chilly, and +brought flushing jackets and trousers into great request, whilst in +midday the light clothing natural to the latitude was sufficient. We +found the tides rise here four feet, and both flood and ebb ran from one +to two knots. After following a reach, trending South-East 1/2 East a +mile, with a string of islets in the upper part, our westerly progress +became more rapid and direct, and with the exception of one bend to the +northward we made three miles in a West-South-West direction. + +But we were once more doomed to be interrupted by the sudden turning of +the river short off to the northward, when it wound round a point a mile +long, and a quarter wide, the extremity of which is low and sandy, a +character only this once observed in the Albert; on the opposite side +were cliffs thirty feet high. + +NATIVES. + +Near the sandy point we observed some fires; and on our return, by +crawling up the bank, I got a peep at a small party of natives engaged +intently in digging for the esculent called warran. As they were few in +numbers our abrupt appearance would have too much terrified them to leave +any chance of an interview; and we accordingly did not disturb them, but +contented ourselves with watching their movements for a while. The +spectacle was an interesting one. Both men and women were engaged in +delving for their food, whilst a little beyond a few more were burning +the bush, and looking out for game and snakes. It does not often fall to +the lot of the white man to behold the wild people of the earth, engaged +in their daily avocations, completely unconscious that the gaze of a +superior class of beings is upon them. We have seen savages exhibited to +us professedly in all the simplicity of the woods; but how can the +children of nature retain their freedom of action and manners under the +curious gaze of a civilized multitude? We may depend upon it that we +gather nothing but erroneous ideas from such a display. If we would +understand, truly, what our savage brethren are like, we must penetrate +into the woods and the wilds where they are to be found; we must mingle +with them in the exercise of their domestic avocations; we must see them +as they are, in all their excusable degradation; and not invested with a +fictitious dignity, or a theatrical simplicity; we must observe them, +also, unawares, and see how they conduct themselves under the ordinary +influences that beset them. + +It was with great reluctance that I departed without making our presence +known; but I could not refrain from leaving, at the place where we +landed, the perplexing legacy of a few presents. With what curious +anxiety must these people have traced our footmarks, from which alone +they could gather evidence that we belonged to a different race! + +After making two miles in a south and nearly three in a west direction, +with but few interruptions from windings, we opened a splendid sheet of +water, trending South-West 1/2 South. A mile back I had found, in a +crooked reach, some native huts, built of sticks and neatly plastered +over, with doors so narrow that none of our broad-shouldered fellows +could enter. + +At this place we saw the last whistling-ducks on our way up; further on, +other species, to be hereafter mentioned, were found. A large alligator +also afforded us sport, although we did not secure him. + +PICTURESQUE SCENERY. + +The country was gradually becoming perceptibly higher, and the scenery +extremely picturesque. Tall palm-trees and bamboos were now to be seen +among the rich foliage on the lower slope of the banks, that rose here to +an elevation of fifty feet, and were much intersected with watercourses. +Onwards we hurried; the influence of the tide being scarcely felt, and +the river preserving its South-West 1/2 South direction, with a width of +two hundred yards, and a depth of two fathoms and a half. At the end of +three miles no change was perceptible, and we began to congratulate +ourselves on, at last, having found a stream that would carry the boats +far towards the point it was always the height of my ambition to reach, +the centre of the continent. + +HOPE REACH. + +To this part of the Albert that had given rise to such expectations we +gave the name of Hope Reach. A little higher up we landed on the right +bank to cook a meal and examine the country. I shall here attempt, with +the aid of Lieutenant Gore's sketch,* to give the reader some idea of the +beauty of the scene that now presented itself to our anxious gaze. + +(*Footnote. See the view annexed.) + +It was in truth as glorious a prospect as could greet the eye. A +magnificent sheet of water lay before us in one unbroken expanse, +resembling a smooth translucent lake. Its gentle repose harmonized +exquisitely with the slender motionless boughs of the drooping gums, +palms, and acacias, that clustered on the banks, and dipped their +feathery foliage in the limpid stream, that like a polished mirror bore, +within its bosom, the image of the graceful vegetation by which it was +bordered. The report of our guns, as they dealt destruction among the +quails that here abounded, rolled for the first time along the waters of +the Albert, breaking in on the hush of stillness that appeared to reign +over all like the presence of a spirit. The country that stretched away +from either bank was an extensive plain, covered with long coarse grass, +above which was occasionally seen the head of a kangaroo, listening, with +its acute ear, for our approach. + +No high land presented itself in any direction, and the eye was only +relieved by the growth of trees and shrubs that marked the line of the +watercourses, the natural drains of the country, which had formed deep +channels through the banks. The gumtrees, near the river, were of +considerable size, though small on the plains. A light kind of mould of +great depth, without a particle of stone of any kind, was the character +of the soil. + +BIRDS AND FISHES. + +One of the boats tried the hooks and lines during our rambles over the +country, and from the number of catfish and a dark kind of bream that was +caught, we are enabled to state that this part of the Albert abounds with +them. Besides quails, pigeons and a beautiful finch, before seen on the +Victoria, are to be numbered among the land birds. Those of the water +consisted of large brown, and small grey ducks, spoonbills, black and +white geese, and a dark blue kind of rail, bearing a great resemblance to +the English moor-fowl, that afforded us excellent sport, as they flew out +in great numbers from the long flags that border the banks on the upper +part of Hope Reach. We did not see any black swans, neither were they +noticed by us on the north-west coast. I, myself, believe they are not to +be found to the northward of latitude 27 degrees 0 minutes South. This +part of the river is subject to a tidal influence, producing a slight +rise, which takes place about four hours after the time of high-water at +the mouth. + +In our eagerness to proceed we moved off rapidly up the river, after a +hasty meal. All beyond was mystery; and it seemed that we were destined +to remain long in suspense; for the day soon closed in, leaving only the +pale light of the moon to guide us. The depth continued regular, at two +and a half fathoms, and the width two hundred yards. We hastened onwards; +the night scenery being almost more beautiful than the day. The heavens +seemed more deep, the water more glittering, the trees more graceful and +feathery; and here and there a tall palm reared its thin and spectral +form above the dense foliage through which the moonlight broke at +intervals, and fell, as it were, in showers of silver on the placid +waters. + +Nearly seven miles had been traversed in the same South-West 1/2 South +direction, when our hopes of proceeding further were suddenly for a time +destroyed, by the appearance of a dense woody mass ahead. A little +further on, the moon peering through the matted foliage showed one branch +of the river turning off to the southward, whilst another, in the mouth +of which we found ourselves, trended west. The lead giving the great +depth of six fathoms, we were induced to follow the latter. Utter +darkness soon surrounded us; the trees, on either side, over-shadowing +the river, which in this branch was not eighty yards wide. + +PROGRESS IMPEDED. + +Our progress, also, at length began to be impeded by fallen or sunken +trees, which not only rendered the ascent dangerous, but at the end of +about two miles fairly brought us to a standstill, and forbade our +further advance. This detention was a bitter disappointment to us all, +and we crept into our blanket-bags with disgust, but with the hope that +in the morning a passage might still be found. + +August 4. + +Daylight brought no better hopes of our taking the boats higher up by +this branch, as a succession of large trees lay across it a quarter of a +mile above. It was a gloomy corner we had got into, and so sheltered that +it seemed as though a breath of wind had never swept through it; the +leaves of the low-spreading palms that drooped over the water, damp with +the morning dew, had unbroken edges, as if an eternal quietude had +pervaded the spot. + +BEAUTY OF THE LANDSCAPE. + +This triste appearance wore off as the sun rose, and the scenery under +his smiles was soon clothed with beauty. Trees with every variety of +foliage overhung each other, connected, as it were, by bowers of creepers +depending in festoons and concealing odd-shaped fragments of fallen +timber, which here and there reared their blackened heads out of the +water, the unruffled smoothness of which was occasionally disturbed by +the splash of some wildfowl, and chequered with alternate spots of gold +and gloom by the sun's rays, as they pierced through the dense +surrounding foliage. + +Returning, we entered the south branch; the opening of which was almost +equal in beauty, as the reader will perceive from the view in the +beginning of the first volume; but we were again stopped by fallen trees +after proceeding about a mile and a half. + +Here we observed driftwood and rushes in the trees, fifteen feet above +our heads. It was now quite clear that all hopes of water carriage +towards the interior were at an end. The boats were at this time above +fifty miles from the entrance, and our provisions only admitting of the +remainder of this day being spent in land exploration, a party was +immediately selected for this service. + +LAND EXCURSION. + +Following up a short woody valley, on reaching the summit of the level a +view burst upon me, the nature of which the reader may learn from the +accompanying plate. A vast boundless plain lay before us, here and there +dotted over with woodland isles. Whilst taking the bearings of one of +these to guide us in the direction we were to steer, I sent a man up a +tree to have a further view; but nothing beyond an extension of the plain +was to be seen. The river could be traced to the southward by a waving +line of green trees; the latter were larger at this spot than in any +other part, and consisted of tall palms, and three kinds of gums. No +trace of the western branch could be discovered. + +Time being, as I have before said, very precious, we moved off in a +South-South-East direction, at the rate of almost four miles an hour, in +spite of the long coarse grass lying on the ground and entangling our +legs. + +THE PLAINS OF PROMISE. + +The soil* was still a light-coloured mould of great depth, and according +to one so well qualified to judge as Sir W. Hooker, who kindly examined +some that I brought to England, is of a rich quality, confirming the +opinion I entertained of it, which suggested for this part of the +continent, the name of The Plains of Promise. + +(*Footnote. My immediate visit to Port Essington afforded me an +opportunity of comparing the qualities of the two soils; and the result +was that the richest land I saw there, in spite of the aid of manure, +etc. was very inferior to that on the Plains of Promise.) + +We were now once more stepping out over a terra incognita; and though no +alpine features greeted our eyes as they wandered eagerly over the vast +level, all was clothed with the charm of novelty. The feelings of delight +which are naturally aroused in those whose feet for the first time press +a new and rich country, and which I have so often before endeavoured in +vain to express, burst forth on this occasion with renewed intensity. + +At the end of nearly four miles we turned off to the westward for a rise +at a short distance, concealing the line of trees that marked the course +of the river, from which we had been gradually receding. We found it to +be on the opposite side of a watercourse twenty-five feet deep. From its +summit we got a view of the country to the south-west, over the growth of +trees at the margin of the river.* + +(*Footnote. See the view annexed. ) + +On this rise we met an emu, which, after several bad shots, got away from +the whole of us. This, in some measure was owing to our over-eagerness, +as the bird was at first inclined to approach. Proceeding a little +farther we observed a small lake bearing north half a mile. Attracted by +the beauty of the vernal tints on its borders we went to taste the +waters. On the same refreshing errand was a luckless beautiful +slate-coloured egret, which Mr. Gore shot. Holding our west course we +made the river at the end of another mile. Its size was reduced to a mere +rivulet; being scarcely fifteen yards wide, with a depth of five feet. +Yet it had greater velocity than we had before observed, running at the +rate of a mile an hour, a clear babbling brook, over which, acacias and +drooping gums formed a leafy tunnel; its course was still from the south. + +HALT THE PARTY AND PROCEED ALONE. + +Whilst the rest of the party halted I proceeded, with the freshest man,* +in a southerly direction; urged on by what was, perhaps, now the +unjustifiable hope of discovering some distant point rising above the far +horizon as a definite result and reward of my exploration. It seemed, +however, almost impossible that this same wearisome monotony could long +continue; and I experienced much of that painful depressing excitement +which is created by a series of similar impressions when we are longing +for variety. + +(*Footnote. A marine, of the name of John Brown, possessing great powers +of endurance. He died in 1845, in a situation I got him under the Trinity +House, on his obtaining a pension for long +servitude.) + +We soon gained almost another two miles, when I availed myself of the +opportunity to satisfy a second time my ambition of outstripping my +companions in approaching towards that land of mystery, Central +Australia. Desiring Brown to make the river abreast, I ran a short +distance further, when I again met the Albert, flowing on as before, with +undiminished size. Even this short distance was something to gain in a +new and untrodden country. + +The line of verdure still pointed out the southerly course of the river +across the endless plain; and it became natural to speculate on its +source or origin; whether it was the drainage of a swamp, or the outlet +of some lagoon, fed by the Cordillera to the eastward. But to speculation +alone was I reduced, it not being permitted me to clear up this point. +All I could do was to give one long lingering look to the southward +before I returned. In that direction, however, no curling smoke denoted +the presence of the savage; all was lonely and still; and yet even in +these deserted plains, equally wanting in the redundance of animal, as in +the luxuriance of vegetable life, I could discover the rudiments of +future prosperity, and ample justification of the name which I had +bestowed upon them. I gazed around, despite my personal disappointment, +with feelings of hopeful gratitude to Him who had spread out so fair a +dwelling place for his creatures; and could not refrain from breathing a +prayer that ere long the now level horizon would be broken by a +succession of tapering spires rising from the many christian hamlets that +must ultimately stud this country, and pointing through the calm depths +of the intensely blue and gloriously bright skies of Tropical Australia, +to a still calmer and brighter and more glorious region beyond, to which +all our sublimest aspirations tend, and where all our holiest desires may +be satisfied. + +The recent formation of this part of the country was very striking. We +met no rocks during our walk; a porphyritic pebble or two being the only +stones noticed; they were flattened, evidently showing that the water by +which they were carried had a slow motion, which supports the view I have +put forward in an early page of this volume, with reference to the +gradual northerly discharge of the accumulated waters of Central +Australia. + +EXPLORATION OF THE INTERIOR. + +My position was in latitude 17 degrees 58 1/2 minutes South longitude 7 +degrees 12 1/2 East of Port Essington, or 139 degrees 25 minutes East of +Greenwich; and within four hundred miles from the centre of the +continent. What an admirable point of departure for exploring the +interior! A few camels, with skins for conveying water, would be the +means of effecting this great end in a very short time. In one month +these ships of the desert, as they have been appropriately called, might +accomplish, at a trifling expense, that which has been attempted in vain +by the outlay of so much money. When we consider that Australia is our +own continent, and that now, after sixty years of occupation, we are in +total ignorance of the interior, though thousands are annually spent in +geographical research, it seems not unreasonable to expect that so +important a question should at length be set at rest. + +RETURN DOWN THE ALBERT. + +In the whole continent there exists no point of departure to be compared +with the head of the Albert. The expedition should, as I have before +remarked, go to Investigator Road, fulfilling my prediction of the +ultimate importance of that port, which lies only twenty-seven miles +North-North-West from the entrance. Here the flat-bottomed boats, taken +out in frame, for the purpose of carrying up the camels, should be put +together, and towed from thence to the river. + +A shout from Brown, who, alarmed at my lengthened absence, had come in +search of me, roused me from the reverie in which I was indulging, and +which had carried me rolling along on the back of a camel, girded round +with an anti-pleurisy belt, over many miles of the new lands of +Australia. Returning with him I rejoined the rest of the party, and we +all moved back in the silence that usually succeeds great excitement, +towards the boats. Mr. Forsyth having made the necessary observations for +latitude, we were soon following the downward course of the Albert. + +KANGAROO POINT. + +We reached the mouth before daylight on the 6th. This was the coldest +morning we had experienced; the thermometer being at 51 degrees with a +strong breeze from South-South-East, which rendered somewhat dangerous +the task of collecting the requisite soundings on the bar at the mouth; +the gig being once or twice nearly half filled in doing so. Behind the +eastern entrance point, was seen a large light-coloured kangaroo, which, +for want of a better, afforded us a name. Our observations refer to this +spot, Kangaroo Point, which they place in latitude 17 degrees 35 minutes +10 seconds South and longitude 7 degrees 35 minutes 50 seconds East of +Port Essington. Instead of the usual mangrove shore, the coast to the +eastward was sandy; but the most remarkable feature, hereabouts, is a +clump of tall mangroves, towering over their fellow evergreens, close to +the western entrance point. They are called in the chart the High Trees +of Flinders, having been noticed by that celebrated navigator whilst +passing at a distance from the coast. Bearing South-West 1/2 South they +guide a ship to the bar, which can only be taken at high-water springs, +when the depth averages eleven feet.* When the eastern part of this clump +of trees bears South 45 degrees West, and Kangaroo Point South 10 degrees +West the bar will have been passed, and the depth, at the same time of +tide, will be seventeen feet; when the bearing of Kangaroo Point, given, +leads up the channel, which deepens in a quarter of a mile to +twenty-three and soon after to thirty feet. The impetus given to the +water, from the first reach of the Albert, being straight, forces a +channel of two miles in extent; with a width of nearly a quarter of a +mile, growing gradually shallower towards the outer part, and, +ultimately, becoming lost in the great flat fronting the shore, which is +thrown out in proportion to the length of the channel, beyond which the +bar extends for above a mile. Part of its inner side, however, is +intersected by a narrow channel of thirteen and seventeen feet; the guide +through which, is the eastern edge of the clump of trees before +mentioned, bearing South 45 degrees West. The Albert is navigable, for +vessels of a draught suited to the bar, thirteen miles; and within five +of where the water is fresh. + +(*Footnote. The tides in the head of the Gulf of Carpentaria appear to be +a compound of many others, obliterating the common daily difference, and +producing only one tide in 24 hours. The direction of the flood stream +commences at South-South-East, changing gradually to South-South-West as +it terminates; that of the ebb changes from North-West to +North-North-East. The strength of each is from a quarter to one knot. The +rise at springs is from 9 to 12 feet, and at neaps from 3 to 8 feet.) + +After observing the latitude, we took advantage of the afternoon's lull +to make the best of our way to the ship, which we met underweigh, running +down towards us; Mr. Parker, the master, having become anxious at our +lengthened absence. + +In the evening and next morning, we got more soundings off the mouth of +the river; and found that there was only six feet at low-water springs, a +mile and a quarter outside the bar. We afterwards carried a line along +the south-eastern shore of the gulf; and at noon, on the 9th, anchored +off Van Diemen's Inlet, where I had arranged to meet Mr. Fitzmaurice's +party. + +ACCIDENT TO MR. FITZMAURICE. + +The whaleboat was soon seen hastening from the shore without the yawl, +which made us suspect all was not right; and I was much distressed to +hear that Mr. Fitzmaurice had been seriously wounded in the ankle by the +discharge of a gun which had gone off within a few yards of it. Mr. Bynoe +went on shore immediately to assist in bringing him on board. The +accident having happened several days ago, and the whole charge of shot +being buried in his foot, his sufferings were intense. It was thought for +some time that amputation would be necessary; but though this was not the +case, he was maimed for life; for which, in some measure, he has been +compensated by promotion and a pension. By this melancholy accident the +service sustained a great loss, which was at no time felt more than when +it occurred. + +COMPLETION OF THE SURVEY OF SOUTH SHORE OF THE GULF. + +Mr. Fitzmaurice had fortunately, before he was disabled, completed his +examination of the coast between the Flinders and Van Diemen's Inlet, +with his usual praiseworthy activity. On leaving the former he found that +the shore trended North 47 degrees East, with a large inlet at the end of +ten miles. This was only examined a short distance in a south direction; +but from the bank being thrown out six miles from its mouth, with a +channel nearly halfway through, it evidently disembogues a large volume +of water, and we may reasonably infer it to be a river. It is named in +the chart Bynoe's Inlet. Seven miles beyond was another inlet, with a +sandy beach extending for two miles to the south-west of it. Five miles +further, the trend of the coast changed to North 4 degrees East, +continuing almost straight in that direction to Van Diemen's Inlet, +distant twenty-five miles; and, with the exception of the first five, is +sandy throughout. Thirteen miles from Van Diemen's Inlet is an opening of +some magnitude, near the south entrance point of which are ponds of fresh +water. Two and four miles south of it were small openings; and two and +seven miles north of it, two others. + +During his excursion Mr. Fitzmaurice had killed one of the rare species +of kangaroo, seen for the first time by us at King Sound, called Macropus +unguifer; this was a somewhat important discovery, as it showed the +extent to which the animal is diffused over the continent. I may here +mention, that the night before we reached Van Diemen's Inlet a flight of +rose-coloured cockatoos,* several of which were caught and kept alive for +some time, alighted on the rigging. + +(*Footnote. Cacatua eos.) + +Thus terminated our exploration of the southern shores of the Gulf of +Carpentaria, nearly two hundred miles of which had been minutely examined +in the boats.* Twenty-six inlets had been discovered, of which two proved +to be rivers, whilst three more were nearly as promising. That all the +others may contain fresh water in the rainy season there is every reason +for supposing, from the fact of deep channels being found in their banks; +from what I have already observed regarding the water being less salt +towards the heads at low tides; and from the report we afterwards heard +at Port Essington that Malay proas occasionally visit the southern shores +of the Gulf, and fill fresh water from alongside, some distance off the +land. If we receive this statement as correct, we must suppose that at +certain seasons the discharge from the various inlets and rivers we +discovered is sufficiently powerful to force back the great body of +seawater, as is the case at the embouchures of many large rivers. + +(*Footnote. As the reader will perceive by a glance at the chart +accompanying this work.) + +The general appearance of the head of the Gulf is that of a low mangrove +shore, between ten and thirty feet high, over which the interior is not +visible from the offing. + +OBSERVATIONS ON THE CLIMATE AND WINDS IN THE GULF. + +During our visit to this part of the continent we found the climate well +suited for Europeans; but what it might be in the middle of the +north-west monsoon we had no opportunity of ascertaining. At its +commencement in the month of November, Flinders found the thermometer to +range on board between 81 and 90 degrees; but on shore, he says, that in +the course of the day it might have been about seven degrees higher; the +temperature, however, being alleviated by constant breezes either from +sea or land, it was seldom oppressive. In July, as I have already stated, +the thermometer, on one occasion, at 5 A.M., was down to 51 degrees; and +on another, at noon, up to 87 degrees, being, in the first instance, six +degrees lower than it was on board, and in the second, seven degrees +higher, which gave an excess in the shore range of thirteen degrees. +Generally on the land it was below 62 degrees before 7 A.M. and after 6 +P.M. The range of the barometer in November was from 29.70 to 30.06; +whilst with us, in July, its maximum height was 30.08, and minimum 30.02; +the lowest being in both seasons with winds from the land, coinciding +with what had been observed on other parts of the continent, that winds +from the sea raise the mercury, and those from the land depress it. + +The winds in July were fresh from South to South-East for about two days +before and after the change in the moon. They began at midnight, +increasing to almost a strong breeze between five and six in the morning, +and dying away again towards noon, when a calm of five hours duration +succeeded; at other times light land and seabreezes prevailed. + +It will appear from this description of the winds in the Gulf of +Carpentaria that they bear a great similarity to those experienced at the +same season on the North-West coast, near Depuch Island; and the +circumstance of the temperature being lowest when they were strongest +from the land is also the same. This was there supposed to have been +occasioned by the great radiation of heat from the land over which they +blew; but as the country at the head of the Gulf of Carpentaria is not of +a cold clayey nature, the idea is naturally suggested that there must be +a great extent of swampy ground in the interior, which strengthens the +opinion I have before expressed. + +SUPPOSED ISLANDS. + +After hoisting in the boats we shaped a course along the eastern shore of +the Gulf towards Booby Island. Our being obliged to return thither, for a +chronometric departure prevented our examining the middle of the upper +part of the Gulf, where, according to certain vague reports, there exist +islands. It is stated, for example, that after the south-west monsoon has +set in strongly, numbers of coconuts are thrown on the north-west shore +of the Gulf of Carpentaria. In the year 1839, moreover, a small proa was +driven off the coast of Timor Laut during the north-west monsoon. The +wind blowing hard drifted them to the South-East for three days and three +nights, when they came to a low island, with no traces of inhabitants, +and abounding in coconut trees, upon the fruit of which they lived until +the monsoon changed, when they sailed back to Timor Laut. Flinders, when +off Batavia River, on the North-East side of the Gulf, was led to suppose +that an island existed to seaward of him, from seeing some flocks of +geese coming from that direction one morning. Wilson, also, in his Voyage +round the World, speaks of the Macassar people reporting an island in the +Gulf of Carpentaria, with sandalwood growing on it. + +EXAMINE ENDEAVOUR STRAIT. + +Soon after daylight on the 13th, we anchored under Booby Island,* the +flagstaff bearing East-South-East half a mile to the south. The weather +looked unusually threatening the previous night. Between the observations +for rating the chronometers I fulfilled my intention of making a cursory +examination of the entrance of Endeavour Strait, and anchored a mile and +three quarters off the North Wallis Island, bearing South 23 degrees +East. It is a conical rocky isle, upwards of 70 feet high, of a coarse +sandstone formation; an extensive coral reef fronts it on all sides, +except the north. The result of a night's observations on shore placed +the summit in latitude 10 degrees 51 minutes 25 seconds South; the true +bearing of Booby Island was North 22 degrees 13 minutes West. The natives +appear to make a cemetery of this island; for on a small sandy point on +the north side we found a large grave, covered with turtle backs, and +containing several skeletons. This is a very different mode of burial +from that noticed in Flinders River. + +(*Footnote. The result of the whole of our observations at this island +are as follows: Latitude of the west point 10 degrees 36 minutes 42 +seconds South, longitude, 141 degrees 57 minutes 45 seconds East; +variation, 7 degrees 0 minutes East. The tides are equally strange here +and in Endeavour Strait; the stream setting to the westward +(West-South-West to West-North-West) from nineteen to twenty hours, and +to the northward and eastward (North to North-East) only from four to +five hours. The latter stream commences about an hour before high-water, +which takes place at 4.30, on the full and change days, when the rise at +springs is 12 feet, and at neaps 7; the length of flood and ebb is nearly +six hours.) + +Leaving our anchorage, we steered West 1/4 North, six miles, in soundings +of 6 and 7 fathoms. We then crossed in 4 1/2 and 5 fathoms, North Wallis +Island bearing South 75 minutes East, a ridge which appeared to be an +elbow of the spit extending off the latter, and forming the south side of +the channel. Continuing the same course, the depth soon increased to 6 +and 7 fathoms. This was highly satisfactory, as it proved there was water +for the largest vessels.* In the afternoon we anchored again under Booby +Island.** + +(*Footnote. Captain Blackwood's recent survey of this Strait confirms my +opinion of its being the best passage through this part of Torres +Strait.) + +(**Footnote. The following is the extract from the game book referred to +in a former page: Booby Island (June and August) 145 quails, 18 pigeons, +12 rails, of two kinds, 3 doves; Van Diemen's Inlet (July) 14 doves, 6 +pigeons, 1 native companion; Bountiful Island (July) 8 quails, 11 doves, +1 pheasant, 3 plovers, 4 white cockatoos; Sweers Island (July) 151 +quails, 87 doves, 20 pigeons, 3 pheasants, 8 white and 2 black cockatoos, +5 spurwing plovers; Disaster Inlet (July) 36 ducks, 9 white cockatoos, 2 +native companions, 1 green ibis; on the coast (July) 10 curlews and +plovers; Flinders River (July) 10 ducks, 5 rose-coloured cockatoos, 4 +pigeons, 3 spurwing plovers, 1 rail of a new species, 1 white ibis, 1 +spoonbill; Albert River (August) 20 ducks, 4 large water rails, 2 +pheasants; between Van Diemen's Inlet and Flinders' River (August) 12 +cockatoos, 1 kangaroo (Macropus unguifer); Wallis Isles (August) 6 +quails, 6 doves, 1 pigeon.) + +LOOK FOR CAPE WESSEL. + +On the evening of the next day, the 17th, we weighed, and steered West by +South across the Gulf; and in the afternoon of the 18th passed eleven +miles from Cape Wessel, according to the position assigned to it in the +chart: but as the weather was tolerably clear, and nothing was seen of +it, there appeared to be some truth in the report I had previously heard +of its being to the southward of the position given to it. + +The wind freshened by midnight, and, as usual, became more southerly, +that is to say, South-South-East, whilst during the day it was generally +East-South-East and East, and very much lighter. The current was steady +at North-West by West from half a knot to three-quarters per hour, +maintaining about the same direction and strength as in 1839. On the +evening of the 19th we crossed the meridian of the centre of New Year +Island, which our observations placed in 8 degrees 52 minutes west of +Booby Island, one mile less than Flinders. + +RETURN TO PORT ESSINGTON. + +It was late in the afternoon of the 20th before we reached an anchorage +off the settlement of Victoria, where we met Captain Stanley, who had +just returned in the Britomart from a cruise in the Arafura Sea, of which +the reader will find an interesting account, from his own pen, in the +following chapter. + + +CHAPTER 2.10. INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. + +Leave Port Essington. +Dobbo Island. +Visit from the Schoolmaster. +Church. +Trade of the Arrou Islands. +Their productions. +Visit from Natives. +The Banda Group. +Penal Settlement. +Adventures of a Javanese. +Captain de Stuers. +Native dance and sports. +Nutmeg Plantations. +Mode of preserving the fruit. +Amboyna. +Visit a natural grotto. +Sail from Amboyna. +Island of Kissa. +Village of Wauriti. +Missionary establishment. +Serwatty Group. +Return to Port Essington. + +SAIL FOR DOBBO. + +We sailed from Port Essington on the 19th of June, and found a very heavy +confused sea running outside, which made the topsides leak so much that +we were obliged to have recourse to the pump every hour. On the second +day we made the south end of the Arrou Islands, the latitude of which +agrees with the position assigned to it in the Admiralty Chart. On +attempting to close the land, which is very low, we shoaled the water +suddenly from 15 to 6 fathoms, when at some distance from the shore, and +from the heavy sea running, and the appearance of the land, I did not +think it prudent to stand in closer, but steered to the northward towards +Dobbo. At sunset we anchored off the village of Maykor, situated at the +entrance of a small inlet, and had a visit from an old man who had been +lately appointed Orangtua by the Captain of a Dutch frigate, that had +touched on the coast. He was very dirty, talked a great deal, and imbibed +a considerable quantity of brandy and arrack. We allowed him to remain on +board till daylight, when he returned to his village, leaving one of his +boat's crew behind to pilot us round to Dobbo. + +After leaving Maykor, we had very deep water until we came abreast the +island of Babi, off which a shoal extends to the eastward two miles. We +crossed the end of it in 8 fathoms, and immediately afterwards deepened +our water to 15; and did not again strike soundings until we were close +off the old Dutch fort, at the entrance of Dobbo harbour. Here we +anchored, as I wished to see the native village close to it. + +The anchor was hardly let go, when the monotonous sound of a tom-tom gave +notice of the approach of some chief; and shortly afterwards, a boat, +carrying a huge Dutch flag, was seen pulling towards the brig, with a +great many round-bladed paddles. + +VISIT FROM THE SCHOOLMASTER. + +Seated in state, in the stern sheets, was an old man dressed in a long +black serge coat and trousers, with a white shirt and handkerchief. His +servant who sat behind him, attempted to protect him from a heavy shower +by holding over his head, with very great care, an old Chinese umbrella +that leaked like a sieve. + +The old man, on coming on board, introduced himself as the schoolmaster +of the village, and gave us a pressing invitation to land and inspect the +church, of which he seemed to be very proud. A younger man, who +accompanied him, he introduced as the Orang kaya of the village. As the +rain still continued, I invited them into the cabin, where they were much +delighted at all they saw; and, during the conference, they expressed +much surprise at being told that all Englishmen were Christians. The +chief of Wakan, an island which forms the other side of the entrance to +Dobbo harbour, also favoured us with a visit. He came to request us to +assist him in waging war against the chief of a neighbouring island, and +did not at all understand our refusing his petition. + +CHURCH AT DOBBO. + +As soon as the rain cleared off, our visitors landed, and Mr. Earl and +myself soon followed them to their village, where they were all drawn up +to receive us, and saluted us with one musket. We were conducted to the +village in state, and immediately taken to see the church, which had been +a nice building, capable of holding all the inhabitants of the place; but +it had latterly been allowed to get very much out of repair. In the font +they had placed a saucer containing a small coin, as a hint that we +should contribute something towards the restoration of the church, which +was not thrown away, and most probably led to the largest donation the +church had received for some time. After inspecting the church and +village, we walked for some distance along the beach, and saw a great +many parrots, parakeets, and large wood-pigeons, of varied and beautiful +plumage, flying amongst the splendid kanari* trees, which, from all +accounts, afford most valuable timber for ship-building. + +(*Footnote. Cannarium commune.) + +June 23. + +Mr. Earl and myself visited the village of Dobbo. We found it very little +changed since our last visit. The trading vessels had all sailed, but the +village was occupied by a few Dutch traders from Macassar, some dozen +Chinese, and about 300 Bughis and Macassars; the greater portion of whom +were preparing to visit the eastern side of the group to collect the +produce for the vessels expected to arrive at the setting-in of the +westerly monsoon. + +The only sea-going vessels in the harbour were two large Macassar proas +and a Ceramese junk; which were to sail in a few days. + +Whilst I was employed, making astronomical observations to determine the +position of the point, Mr. Earl obtained considerable information from +the traders. + +TRADE OF THE ARROU ISLANDS. + +The commerce of these islands appears to have increased considerably of +late years, four or five ships and brigs, with a number of Macassar and +Bughis proas, whose united crews were said to have amounted to 5,000 +persons, having sailed with cargoes about two months previous to our +visit. + +The produce of the Arrou Islands consists chiefly of pearls, +mother-of-pearl shell, tortoise-shell, birds of paradise, and Trepang; +but the trade of Dobbo is not dependent on the productions of the Arrou +Islands alone. The Bughis proas import large quantities of British +calico, iron, hardware, muskets, gunpowder, etc. from Singapore, to +obtain which Dobbo is visited by the natives of Ceram, Buru, New Guinea, +and of all the adjacent islands, it being the only spot in this part of +the world where British manufactures can at present be procured. The +articles brought for sale from New Guinea consist of nutmegs, tortoise +and mother-of-pearl shell, ambergris, birds-of-paradise, ebony, clove, +and Massay bark, rosamala (an odoriferous wood) and Kayu-buku, a wood +much prized for cabinet-work. British calicoes and iron are the principal +articles taken in exchange for these by the proas from New Guinea. + +The closeness with which the native traders conceal their commercial +transactions, even from each other, rendered it impossible for me to +learn the amount of exports and imports. Each Bughis proa imports to the +amount of from 10,000 to 30,000 dollars, and at least one half of her +cargo consists of British goods. Taking the yearly average of thirty +proas, and the amount of her import cargo at the lowest above stated, +this will give 150,000 dollars, or 32,500 pounds sterling, as the amount +of British goods imported annually into Dobbo. This appears a large +amount; but it will be found, upon examination, that it is rather under +than above the actual value. In fact, the greater portion of our cotton +manufactures sold at Singapore is consumed in the less civilized parts of +the Indian Archipelago, where the natives prefer cheap goods and gaudy +patterns; while the people of Java, Celebes, etc. prefer their own or +Indian manufactures, which, although dearer, are far more durable than +ours. + +The value of a return cargo of a Bughis proa at Singapore is about 200 +per cent on the outlay. Of the timber of the Arrou Islands there are +several varieties, highly spoken of by the Bughis (who build and repair +their proas there) for their durability, and the ease with which they are +worked. Although of immense size, the trees are almost invariably sound; +and as they can be felled within a few yards of the beach, it is not +impossible that at some future period timber may form a valuable article +of export. + +The western islands of this group are very thinly inhabited. Wamma, +though nearly forty miles in circumference, contains only between 200 and +300 inhabitants, who are scattered along the coast in little villages, +each containing about half a dozen houses. The eastern islands are said +to be more thickly inhabited. The natives appear to be a harmless race; +and though their country is so rich in produce, the greater portion are +in a state of poverty. This is to be attributed to the immoderate use of +spirituous liquors, large quantities of which are brought by the traders +from Java and Macassar. From their language and personal appearance, the +natives appear to be a mixture between the Malayan race and the +Polynesian negro. + +PRODUCTIONS OF THE ISLANDS. + +We also learnt that the emu and a small species of the kangaroo are found +in the islands. From the varieties of birds, insects, butterflies, and +parasitical plants, etc. that we saw, these islands promise a rich field +to the naturalist and botanist. + +We were shown some of the pearls that had been collected, some of which +were very large, and highly prized by the Chinese; though from their +irregular form and golden hue, they would not suit the European market. +The smaller pearls, about the size of Number 1 shot, were very perfect in +figure but tinged with colour. + +As soon as the observations were concluded we returned on board, and got +underway to proceed to the Ki Islands. On the 25th we passed the north +end of the Great Ki, and along its western side, which appeared to be as +steep as the eastern, and to afford no anchorage whatever. At 2 P.M. we +were off the Lesser Ki, and anchored nearly in our old berth, in 14 +fathoms. As soon as the brig was secured, Mr. Hill and myself commenced a +survey of the harbour, with which we were rather disappointed, as on +further examination the water proved to be too deep for convenient +anchorage. + +NATIVES ON BOARD. + +June 27. + +The natives came on board in great numbers, bringing abundance of yams, +coconuts, bananas, pumpkins, and a few fowls. As our usual hour for +divine service approached, Mr. Earl explained to them what we were going +to do, and that they must go on shore till we had finished; but the +chiefs requested so earnestly to be allowed to remain, that I permitted +them to do so, upon the condition that they would be quite silent during +the service. This they promised, and seating themselves on the hammock +nettings all round the ship, remained the whole time most quiet and +attentive spectators of the scene before them, which they seemed to +understand and appreciate perfectly. + +In the afternoon we landed, and accompanied by one of the chiefs, walked +into the interior of the island for some distance. The country was very +low, and covered with an impenetrable jungle, through which a path had +been cut with considerable care; on each side, we noticed some patches of +ground surrounded by stone walls, very neatly constructed. Our guide +informed us that they had been farms, but the soil was exhausted. As only +the underwood had been cleared away, the crop must have been produced +beneath the shade of the large trees, through which the rays of the sun +could scarcely penetrate. At Ki Doulan we saw nothing new. The +inhabitants had sold nearly all their canoes to the Bughis, who had +touched here on their return from Arrou to their own country. + +THE BANDA GROUP. + +June 29. + +As soon as our survey was finished, we sailed for Banda, where I hoped to +find some vessel in which our shipwrecked passengers* might find their +way to a more civilized part of the world. + +(*Footnote. Crew of the Montreal, lost in Torres Strait, who reached Port +Essington in their boats.) + +June 30. + +At 8 A.M. we saw Banda, and at 11 entered the harbour; which is formed +between the two islands of Great Banda and Banda Neira; and were here +advised by the Resident to take the seamen on to Amboyna; where the +papers requisite for their embarkation, in a Dutch merchant vessel, could +be procured with less difficulty. + +The Banda group consists of three large islands and two smaller ones. The +nutmegs, which form the only export of the place, are all grown upon +Great Banda, the largest of the three islands. It averages 500 feet in +height, and is luxuriantly wooded. + +BANDA NEIRA. + +Banda Neira, the next in point of size, is the residence of the +government officers, the troops, and the convicts. It is not so high as +Great Banda, and does not produce a single nutmeg. The third island is +called the Gounung Api, or Burning Mountain; and is, as its name implies, +a volcano, from which more or less smoke, impregnated with sulphur, is +constantly issuing; during the westerly monsoon, this smoke is blown over +the town, which it renders very unhealthy. One of the small islands is +inhabited entirely by lepers, who are sent there to prevent the disease +from spreading among the inhabitants. + +Banda is used as a penal settlement by the Dutch Government, and, at the +period of our visit, there were from 3000 to 4000 convicts, guarded by +about 300 soldiers, most of whom were natives of Celebes and Amboyna, +being commanded by European officers. The town of Banda is clean, and +contains, besides the houses of the Government officers, ample +storehouses for the reception of the nutmegs grown upon Great Banda; +together with very commodious barracks for the troops, and an airy and +well appointed hospital. In addition to the Government officers and +troops, a considerable number of Chinese have settled in Banda Neira. +They reside in a part of the town by themselves; and some of them, +judging from the appearance of their houses, seem to be prospering in the +world. + +The harbour is well sheltered in both monsoons, and is easy of access, +but it is closed against foreign merchant vessels.* We found two merchant +vessels under Dutch colours, at anchor; one was commanded by an +Englishman, and the other, the property of a rich Chinaman living in +Banda, by an old friend, who piloted us last year into Dobbo Harbour. + +(*Footnote. A shoal extends from Great Banda towards the Gounung Api, +leaving a deep passage of not more than a quarter of a mile wide. Upon +this shoal, a considerable portion of which is dry at low-water, +extensive bamboo fish-weirs are erected, which seem to be very +productive. The natives also use fish-pots formed of bamboo, resembling +in principle the common drum-net, which they leave down in shoal water +during the night, and generally find a good supply in the morning. On +another part of the shoal we observed a number of large stones, which are +said to have been projected from the volcano, during a violent eruption +some years ago.) + +ADVENTURES OF A JAVANESE. + +His history was a strange one. He was a half-caste, born in Java, who, +after various adventures in different parts of the world, had been +pressed into our naval service, and served some time on board a +man-of-war, where he learned the English language. On his discharge from +her, he was for some time in distress in London, and eventually he found +his way back to his native country, where his enterprise, knowledge of +seamanship, and facility in acquiring languages, of which he spoke seven +or eight, soon got him employment. + +The commandant of the troops, Captain De Stuers, nephew to the +Governor-General of the Moluccas, who had very civilly pointed out the +best anchorage to us, and given us every information in his power, on our +first arrival, finding that we were interested in the manners and customs +of the natives, very kindly invited us to see a menado dance performed by +some of the native soldiers of the garrison. We landed with him in his +Oram-bay, a large native boat, pulled by twelve men, who kept time by +striking their round-bladed paddles against the gunwale between every +stroke. + +NATIVE DANCE. + +On landing, the prettiest sight possible awaited us. The barrack-square, +a green grass field of considerable extent, was covered with the native +soldiers, all dressed in their gayest holiday costume, and decorated with +scarves and handkerchiefs of the brightest colours, which streamed +loosely from their elbows. Some of the men were armed with narrow bamboo +shields, others with wooden swords, and the remainder with the light +stems of the sago-palm, which were to be used as javelins. Each of these +warriors came dancing up to us in turn, to make his obeisance, as we +advanced to the spot where seats had been prepared for us. As soon as we +were all seated the dance commenced. At first the spear-men advanced +towards each other, holding the spear in the right hand, and the bamboo +shields in the left, keeping time to the rude music of a couple of drums +with very great accuracy, and dancing quite as much with their arms as +their legs, in the most graceful manner possible. When they had +approached sufficiently near to each other, one threw his spear with +great force and dexterity, still keeping time to the music, and the other +parried the weapon with his bamboo shield. I only saw one instance of +failure, and then the unfortunate man received the blunt spear full on +his breast with such force that it sent him rolling head-over-heels, much +to the amusement of the spectators, and equally to his own discomfiture. + +As one of the Port Essington natives, a very fine active man, had +accompanied us on shore, we persuaded him, with some difficulty, to join +in the dance, thinking that the quickness of eye, so common to all +savages, would enable him to avoid the spear; but in this we were all +disappointed, as he was struck nearly every time the spear was thrown. + +NATIVE SPORTS. + +After the dance was over sundry gymnastics followed, and the evening was +wound up by an exhibition of the Ombres Chinoises, in which the soldiers +seemed to take very great delight. The moving figures were very cleverly +managed; and, to judge from the shouts of laughter which accompanied the +storyteller in his tale, it must have been a very amusing one. + +July 5. + +The Resident having invited us to visit the nutmeg plantations on Great +Banda, we accompanied him to the landing-place at Lontar, where we found +chairs waiting for us, fitted with long poles, like those of a sedan, and +were carried by eight men, who placed the poles on their shoulders, thus +raising the chair, with its occupant, above their heads, a position which +we found at first anything but pleasant. + +In these conveyances we ascended to the summit of the island by a broad +flight of stone steps, leading up from the landing-place, at the top of +which we saw a ruined fort, and a church, that still retains traces of +having been a fine building, though it had been much shaken by an +earthquake. After passing the church, we entered the nutmeg plantations. + +NUTMEG PLANTATIONS. + +The scenery was most beautiful. Under the shade of large kanari trees, +whose luxuriant foliage most effectually excluded the sun's rays, were +thousands of nutmeg trees loaded with blossom and fruit in every stage of +development. After passing through above a mile of these, we arrived at a +house belonging to one of the planters, where we saw the process of +curing the nutmeg. + +In nine months from the opening of the blossom, the fruit, which +resembles in appearance and shape an unripe peach, is gathered from the +tree, by means of a long stick with an iron hook at the end. The outer +covering, a tough fleshy skin which being opened divides in two halves, +is then pulled off, and the mace, which is found partly enveloping the +nut, is carefully separated and dried for two or three days in the sun. +The nutmegs are then placed on long bamboo platforms, under sheds built +for the purpose, where they are dried by means of wood fires. When +sufficiently dry, they are handed over to the Government (who monopolize +the whole produce of the island) and are then placed in the Government +stores, where they are heated with quick-lime, which has the effect of +preserving them from insects: they are then ready for exportation. + +The annual produce of the island is said to average from 300,000 to +400,000 pounds of nutmegs; and about one-fourth that quantity of mace. +Nutmegs are the only produce of Banda. Cloves are grown upon the island, +but are considered to be so much inferior in quality to those produced at +Amboyna, that they are not exported. + +In returning to the ship, the bearers amused themselves by racing with +each other, a proceeding far from agreeable to us who were carried, +particularly when we came to the flight of steps, which they descended at +full speed, shaking the chairs to such a degree that we had some trouble +in keeping our seats. On arriving at the bottom we were most hospitably +received by one of the nutmeg planters. + +On the 6th July we sailed from Banda, passing out through the western +entrance, between the shoal extending from Great Banda and the Gounung +Api; though very narrow, it is quite safe, and by keeping over on the +Gounung Api shore, which is very steep, we found plenty of water. + +BAY OF AMBOYNA. + +July 7. + +We entered the bay of Amboyna; but light winds prevented our reaching the +anchorage till noon on the 8th. We found a Dutch frigate, the Bellona, a +14-gun brig, and several merchant vessels under Dutch colours lying in +the roads. + +On landing, I was most kindly received by the Governor-General of the +Moluccas, Colonel de Stuers, who gave me a most pressing invitation to +take up my abode at his delightful residence a short distance out of the +town, which was gladly accepted. During our stay at Amboyna the rain was +almost incessant. This prevented our seeing the clove plantations, which +were described as being very beautiful, and the cloves of Amboyna are as +much prized as the nutmegs of Banda. + +VISIT A NATURAL GROTTO. + +The only fine day was devoted to an excursion some miles inland to visit +a curious natural grotto. We started in chairs, borne on men's shoulders, +similar to those at Banda, and which seem to be the usual conveyance of +the country. Our party consisted of more than 100 natives, preceded by +drums, gongs, and two large Dutch flags. The men who were not employed in +carrying the chairs, ran by our side, and amused us by their songs and +war-cry, which was the most thrilling yell I ever heard. The grotto +itself, prettily situated on the side of a well wooded hill, was of +considerable length but not otherwise curious. + +July 20. + +Having at last succeeded in getting a rate for the chronometers, which +the unsettled state of the weather had rendered a matter of some +difficulty, we sailed from Amboyna, much delighted with the kindness and +attention we had all received. During the night we passed a small +insulated volcano that was emitting a faint smoke, and in the morning +made the north side of Wetter, which ranges from 3000 to 4000 feet in +height, is very barren, and apparently thinly inhabited. + +ISLAND OF KISSA. + +We were beating to the eastward against a strong breeze and heavy swell +from the south-east till the 25th, when we reached the small island of +Kissa, off which we anchored, in 30 fathoms, a quarter of a mile from the +shore, to the great delight of Mr. Earl's servant, who was a native of +this place. His countrymen, on coming on board, received him with the +most extravagant expressions of joy; and kept him up all night, relating +the wonders he had seen since he left them; in doing which he talked to +such a degree that when he came on board in the morning he could hardly +speak from hoarseness. We found the natives had been suffering most +severely from famine, occasioned by a long-continued drought that had +dried up everything on the island, to such an extent, that the rice +crops, upon which they chiefly depend for food, had entirely failed; but +of livestock we found no difficulty in obtaining an abundant supply, and +at a very moderate price. A couple of fowls were purchased for two feet +of thin brass wire, highly prized by the natives for making fishhooks +(which they prefer to our steel ones) and bracelets. A large pig was +obtained for two fathoms of white calico, and everything else in +proportion. + +VILLAGE OF WAURITI. + +On landing, we were met by a chief who had seen Mr. Earl on a previous +visit. He promised to procure chairs to carry us up to Wauriti, the +principal village on the island; and, while waiting for them, came on +board and dined with us, behaving with great decorum, and appearing much +interested in all he saw. After dinner we found the chairs waiting for us +on the beach, and proceeded to the village, ascending a deep ravine with +a streamlet running down the centre, overshadowed by the most luxuriant +foliage. + +After emerging from this ravine we found ourselves near the highest point +of the island, of which we had a good view. Every part exhibited abundant +signs of industry and cultivation, although parched up from want of rain. +The chief of Wauriti received us with great hospitality, and offered +refreshments of tea, rice cake, and a sort of beer, made from the Sago +palm. + +MISSIONARY ESTABLISHMENT. + +He then escorted us round the village, which contains a very good church +and schoolhouse, constructed under the direction of a Dutch Missionary, +who had been for some years a resident on the island, with his family, +and who appeared to have been very successful in converting the natives; +but the distress occasioned by the want of rain was too great a trial of +their faith; they declared that their old gods had sent the drought upon +them as a punishment for deserting them, for they had never had such a +visitation before Christianity had been introduced into the island. The +poor Missionary's influence was over; he was obliged to quit the island, +and went to Amboyna. A mile north of Wauriti we visited a smaller village +inhabited by the descendants of some Dutch families, who had lived upon +the island many years ago. They were quite different in appearance from +the natives, and some of the women were very goodlooking. In returning to +the ship, we examined an old Dutch fort built on the beach, but now in a +very dilapidated state. It consisted simply of a square building, with +bastions at the opposite angles. At sunset we made sail for Letti, off +which we anchored the next day, in 13 fathoms; half a mile north of the +Missionary establishment; where we found a resident minister and his +family, and two others from another part of the island staying with them. +A visit from Europeans was, to them, an event of rare occurrence, and +must have been an interesting break in their monotonous lives; they had +been very successful in their labours, and had converted many of the +natives. They had several establishments on the island; the one we +visited consisted of a church, schoolhouse, and house for the missionary; +the church had been built more than 100 years, and was a very substantial +edifice. The school appeared to be well attended by the native children. + +The island of Letti, which is about 10 miles in extent, had also suffered +much from the want of rain, but was fast recovering its green appearance. +A high ridge of hills extends along the centre of the island from east to +west; the sides of which, sloping gradually towards the sea, are covered +with trees, and the whole island presents an appearance of great +fertility. The anchorage off Letti, which we surveyed, is very good +during the south-east monsoon, but affords no shelter when the wind blows +in an opposite direction. There may be an anchorage on the south side of +the island, which we did not visit, that would be available during the +North-West monsoon. + +SERWATTY GROUP. + +After completing our survey at Letti we worked to the eastward, against +the monsoon, keeping as close as possible under the lee of the Serwatty +group, which enabled us to make a rough survey of the islands composing +it. These proved to be very incorrectly laid down in the only chart we +had, and from what we saw they require a far more detailed examination +than we had time to devote to them; this would, I have no doubt, lead to +the discovery of many anchoring-places, where vessels might carry on +trade with the natives, with much greater ease and safety than they can +do when obliged to stand off and on with the vessel while the boats are +sent in to trade; since, by these means, the crew are necessarily +divided, are liable to fall an easy prey to the natives, should the +latter be inclined to treachery. + +The various traders we met with, during this, as well as on our former +visit to the islands, all agreed in warning us against the inhabitants of +Timor Laut and Baba, as people not at all to be trusted. It is much to be +hoped that if Port Essington should ever become a place of much trade, +that these people will be more civilized, as from the easy communication, +in either monsoon, Timor Laut will be much frequented by the settlers at +Port Essington, in order to procure the tropical productions abounding +there, which they would not find on the Australian coasts. The Arrou +islands, for the same reason, will hold out great inducements to traders, +as the timber found there is infinitely superior, for most purposes, to +any found on the Cobourg peninsula. + +RETURN TO PORT ESSINGTON. + +As our provisions were running short, and the time had arrived when we +were expected to return to the settlement, I had not time to stop to +examine several places I wished to see, particularly the southern part of +the island of Timor Laut, where from information we received at Banda, a +very large and secure harbour is said to exist, available in both +monsoons. The island of Serra was another point, as it is stated to be a +very good place for obtaining supplies. + +In crossing over to Australia we saw Timor Laut, off which we experienced +a very fresh South-East breeze and a heavy sea, which continuing to +prevail with a strong current setting to leeward, we were in consequence +eight days reaching Port Essington, where we found that all had gone on +well during our absence. + + +CHAPTER 2.11. PORT ESSINGTON AND THE NORTH-WEST COAST. + +Appearance of Settlement. +Effects of climate. +Native mother. +Trade in teeth. +Macassar Proas. +Lieutenant Vallack visits the Alligator Rivers. +Interview with Natives. +Prospects of Port Essington. +Lieutenant Stewart's Route. +Climate. +Remarks of Mr. Bynoe. +Harbour of refuge. +Sail from Port Essington. +Sahul Shoal. +Arrive at Coepang. +Timorees. +Sail for North-west Coast. +Strong winds. +Cape Bossut. +Exploration of North-west Coast. +View of Interior. +Birds. +Solitary Island. +Visit the Shore. +Amphinome Shoals. +Bedout Island. +Breaker Inlet. +Exmouth Gulf. +Arrive at Swan River. + +PORT ESSINGTON. + +The period of our arrival at Port Essington had been looked forward to by +all with deep interest, and, I may say, some anxiety. Two years had +elapsed since our last visit, and various and contradictory were the +reports in circulation respecting the welfare of the settlement. We were +accordingly truly rejoiced to find it in a state of prosperity that will +ever reflect the highest credit on the hardy few who have laboured so +earnestly for its welfare. It was an emblem of the rapidity with which, +in young countries, it is possible to recover from any disaster, that the +trees which had been uprooted, shattered, and riven in fragments by the +hurricane of 1839, were for the most part concealed by the fresh foliage +of the year; there was scarcely anything left to commemorate that +dreadful visitation, but the tombs of twelve brave fellows, of the +Pelorus, who lost their lives at the time. + +There was a care-worn, jaundiced appearance about the settlers, that +plainly revealed how little suited was the climate for Europeans to +labour in; and yet there had been, I was told, no positive sickness. The +hospital, however, had been enlarged, and rendered a very substantial +building. Captain Macarthur had built a strong and well-contrived +blockhouse, of the excellent kind of wood, a species of teak, before +alluded to. A new garden also had been laid out, in which the banana and +pine, besides many other tropical fruits, were flourishing. The +arrow-root and sugar-cane grown here are allowed by those who have seen +these plants in the West Indies not to be surpassed in excellence; and +the cotton from Pernambuco, and Bourbon seed, has been valued in England +at sixpence-halfpenny a pound. The colonists were beginning to understand +the seasons; they had taken out of the ground sweet potatoes nearly +sufficient to last them until the next crop. This was the first time they +had been tried. I have never seen any in South America half the size. In +short, I may say that the settlement was fast approaching the state in +which was that at Raffles Bay when it was abandoned. + +Considering the few days given to sporting, our game-book contains a very +tolerable list, comprising seven kangaroos, twenty quails, ten ducks, +seven pigeons, two pheasants, and two ibises. + +The natives in the neighbourhood of Port Essington are, like all others +on the continent, very superstitious; they fancy that a large kind of +tree, called the Imburra-burra, resembling the Adansonia, contains evil +spirits. Here, also, as I have elsewhere observed, they fancy that after +death they reappear as whites; the bones of the dead are frequently +carried from place to place. + +The reader will remember the native named Alligator, whom I have +mentioned on a previous visit to Port Essington. I witnessed in his +family an instance of affection for a departed child, which, though it +exhibited itself in this peculiar manner, was extremely touching. The +wife had treasured up the bones of the little one, and constantly carried +them about with her, not as a memento mori, but as an object whereon to +expend her tenderest emotions, whenever they swelled within her breast. +At such times she would put together these bones with a rapidity that +supposed a wonderful knowledge of osteology, and set them up that she +might weep over them. Perhaps, in her imagination, as she performed this +melancholy rite, the ghastly framework before her became indued with the +comely form of infancy; bright eyes once more sparkled in those hollow +cells, and a smile of ineffable delight hung where, in reality, was +naught but the hideous grin of death. I exceedingly regret that the +mother who could feel so finely was some time afterwards over-persuaded +to part with the bones of her child. + +I may here mention that the medical officer of the settlement was in the +habit of extracting teeth for the natives, who found the European method +much more easy than their own mode of knocking them out. The supercargo +of a vessel, learning this fact, was anxious to become a purchaser of +teeth to some extent for the London market, being persuaded that they +would find a ready sale among the dentists; and it is more than probable +that many of our fair ladies at home are indebted for the pearls on which +the poets exhaust so much of their fancy to the rude natives of +Australia. + +Among the information I gained during this stay at Port Essington +respecting the Macassar people, who periodically visit the coast, was +that of their discovering a strait leading into the Gulf of Carpentaria, +behind English Company's Islands. Passing Cape Wilberforce, called Udjung +Turu, or Bearaway Point, they continue their course down the Gulf to the +Wellesley Islands, named by them Pulo Tiga, or The Three Islands; this is +the usual southern limit of their voyage. The Macassar proas that visit +Port Essington, amounting in one season to fourteen, usually brought for +barter tea, sugar, cloths, salt-fish, rice, etc. Several of the nakodhas, +or masters, have expressed a wish to abandon fishing, and occupy +themselves only in trade, if there is sufficient encouragement held out +to them. + +During our stay a report was brought into the settlement by the natives +that there was a large vessel wrecked on the mainland, near the Alligator +Rivers, which was accompanied by so many details of place and +circumstance that Captain Stanley was induced to send Lieutenant Vallack, +of the Britomart, away in the decked tender to procure information, and +to render all assistance in his power. He was accompanied by several of +the Port Essington natives; and on arriving at the Eastern River, found +that there was no foundation for the report. But having got so far away +from the settlement, he ascended the river some little distance, and +towards sunset came on a tribe of natives. The anchor was let go, and +signs were made to induce them to approach, for some time without +success. At last, however, encouraged by seeing so many of their own +countrymen, two or three of the more courageous ventured to draw near. +The scene that followed was a curious illustration of the slight +communication that exists between natives of different tribes, and also +of the great difference in their language, as the strangers could hold no +conversation with the people from Port Essington, who, when they found +their own dialect was not understood, tried to explain themselves in such +few words of broken English as were then used at the colony, and seemed +very much surprised at their want of success. A large mess of boiled +rice, which had been prepared by way of a feast for the newcomers, was +then produced; but it was not before they saw their countrymen eagerly +devouring it that they could be induced to eat, as they evidently did not +know what it was. The result of Lieutenant Vallack's visit is hostile to +the idea entertained that clothes given to natives at Port Essington pass +into the interior, which I always much doubted. Had the fence before +alluded to by me been run across the neck, and an out-station formed +there, we should have had further acquaintance with the natives of the +main, besides other advantages that would necessarily have accrued. + +As it seemed extremely probable that the course of events would not again +permit the Beagle to visit Port Essington, we naturally experienced some +regret on our departure, and were led to speculate, with interest, on its +future destiny. A young settlement, so remote and solitary, cannot fail +to awaken the liveliest sympathy in the voyager. How small soever may be +the circle of its present influence, the experience of the past teaches +us confidently to expect that wherever a knot of Englishmen locate +themselves, there are deposited the germs of future greatness. For Port +Essington, a sphere of action, of great extent and importance, appears +marked out by the hand of nature; though, to a careless observer, +unskilled in discerning the undeveloped capabilities of geographical +positions, it may appear in the light simply of an isolated military +post. And, certainly, whatever may be its actual resources, little or +nothing has, as yet, been done to ascertain them. We are still reduced to +base our opinions on conjecture and hypothesis; we know nothing of the +amount of commerce that might be carried on with the islands of the +Indian Archipelago--nothing of the productions of the mainland--nothing +of the extent to which colonization might be carried in the +neighbourhood. Without data of this kind it is impossible, with any +pretensions to accuracy, to estimate the probable future importance of +our settlement at Port Essington, the value of which does not depend on +the fertility of Cobourg Peninsula, any more than that of Gibraltar on +the productiveness of the land within the Spanish lines. Victoria, if we +regard its own intrinsic worth, might be blotted out of the list of our +possessions without any material detriment to our interests; but its +importance, as a commercial station, is incalculable. It is, indeed, to +the country behind--at present unvisited, unexplored, a complete terra +incognita--and to the islands within a radius of five hundred miles, that +we must look if we would form a correct idea of the value of Port +Essington to the Crown. At present it may seem idle, to some, to +introduce these distant places as elements in the discussion of such a +question; but no one who reflects on the power of trade to knit together +even more distant points of the earth, will think it visionary to suppose +that Victoria must one day--insignificant as may be the value of the +districts in its immediate neighbourhood--be the centre of a vast system +of commerce, the emporium, in fact, where will take place the exchange of +the products of the Indian Archipelago for those of the vast plains of +Australia. It may require some effort of the imagination, certainly, to +discover the precursor of such a state of things in the miserable traffic +now carried on by the Macassar proas; but still, I think, we possess some +data on which to found such an opinion, and I am persuaded that Port +Essington will ultimately hold the proud position I predict for it. + +As steam communication, moreover, must soon be established between +Singapore and our colonies on the south-eastern shores of Australia,* +this port, the only really good one on the north coast, will be of vast +importance as a coal depot. + +(*Footnote. By this arrangement Sydney could be brought within nearly +sixty days of England.) + +As I have already observed, however, little pains have been taken to +ascertain all the capabilities of the place, and to extend our +acquaintance with the country behind. No European has ever yet penetrated +any great distance beyond the neck that connects Cobourg Peninsula with +the mainland; and even the report of the existence of the settlement has +scarcely travelled farther. At least in 1841, when Lieutenant Vallack +visited one of the Alligator rivers he found the natives completely +ignorant that we had established ourselves in their neighbourhood. + +From the account of Lieutenant P.B. Stewart,* of which I have given a +brief abstract above, it appears that there is some good land on the +Peninsula, though such is decidedly not the case near the settlement. + +(*Footnote. This officer has since forwarded me his route. It appears +that on leaving Victoria he proceeded to the south-west side of the +Peninsula, and followed the shore to the neck, when taking an east +direction he crossed it, and then pursuing a northerly course made his +way to Middle Head, on the side of the harbour opposite the settlement. +The frequent opportunities Lieutenant Stewart had of determining his +positions by cross-bearings of the islands, leave no doubt as to the +correctness of his route.) + +The reports of late sent in respecting the climate have, in some measure, +been unfavourable; and, as I have observed, the appearance of the +garrison was rather sickly; but may not this arise partly from the +indifferent manner in which they are housed? Small, low, thatched +cottages, in a temperature much too warm for Europeans to labour in +constantly, are apt to engender disease. There is, besides, a mangrove +swamp immediately behind the settlement, which at present decreases its +salubrity. With regard to the range of the thermometer, it has been known +as low as 62 degrees, and it is never so high, by ten or twenty degrees, +as I have seen it in South Australia during the hot winds: the average, +however, is about 83 degrees. The fact that the site of Victoria lies so +far from the entrance of the harbour is injurious to its prosperity, as +it prevents many vessels from calling, and deprives it of the breezes +that constantly prevail on the coast, and would of course conduce to its +healthiness.* + +(*Footnote. The following remarks from Mr. Bynoe, on the climate of +Northern Australia, corroborate the views put forward in the text: + +I find on a reference to the Medical Journals, as well as to a +Meteorological table kept by me during a period of six years, on the +coasts of Australia, and under every variety of climate, that we had no +diseases peculiar to that continent, and I am led to believe it a +remarkably healthy country. On the North and North-west coasts, where you +find every bight and indentation of land fringed with mangroves, +bordering mud flats, and ledges formed by corallines in every stage of +decomposition, with a high temperature, no fevers or dysenteries were +engendered. + +Our ship's company were constantly exposed, in boats, to all the +vicissitudes from wet to dry weather, sleeping in mangrove creeks for +many months in succession, pestered by mosquitoes during the hours of +repose, yet they still remained very healthy; and the only instance where +the climate was at all prejudicial (if such a term can be applied) was in +the Victoria River, on the north coast, where the heat was, at one +period, very great, and the unavoidable exposure caused two of the crew +to be attacked with Coup de Soleil. + +Our casualties consisted of two deaths during our stay on the Australian +coast, one from old age; and the other, a case of dysentery, contracted +at Coepang. + +It may not be uninteresting to state, that from the time that Port +Essington was settled in 1838, up to the period of our last visit to that +military post, and for some time after, no endemial form of disease had +manifested itself, and the only complaints that the men had been +suffering from were diseases such as were usually to be met with in a +more temperate clime, and those were few. But we must take into +consideration their isolated position, the constant sameness of their +life, their small low thatched cottages, mostly with earthen floors; +their inferior diet, and also the absence or scantiness of vegetables. +Most of the men, moreover, experience a constant yearning for home, +which, yearly increasing, terminates in despondency, and leaves them open +to the attacks of disease. Scorbutic symptoms were at one period very +prevalent, arising principally from the poor form of diet; similar cases +occurred in a former settlement on that part of the coast, from the same +causes; but although Port Essington has been of late visited by sickness, +I do not consider it by any means an unhealthy spot.) + +Considering Port Essington as a harbour of refuge for the crews of ships +wrecked in Torres Strait, it is certainly far removed from the scene of +distress; and looking upon it in this light only, a military station at +Cape York would probably be attended with greater benefit and less +expense, though, as it might be expected to meet with annoyance from the +natives of the islands in Torres Strait, who are badly disposed and +wander over a great space in search of plunder, the party should not be +very small. There is, moreover, no real harbour; but, at the same time, +as the post would be on a low narrow projection, with a seabreeze +sweeping over it in either monsoon, it would doubtless be cooler than at +Port Essington. + +I may observe that the only instance that came under my immediate notice +of the benefit of a harbour of refuge on the north coast, was that of a +vessel wrecked too far to the westward to reach Cape York, the crew of +which arrived at Port Essington in their boats. + +It was in some measure at the request of the surgeon, in order to +alleviate Mr. Fitzmaurice's great sufferings by a little rest, that our +stay was lengthened to September 7th, when we left in the morning.* + +(*Footnote. While steering North by East 1/2 East for Point Record, we +discovered a bank of 4 1/2 fathoms, with 7 and 8 on each side. When just +off it, to the northward, in 7 fathoms, the west extreme of Point Record +bore North 19 1/4 East, and its east extreme North 35 1/4 East, and the +north-east end of Spear Point North 59 degrees West.) + +SAHUL SHOAL. + +By noon we had cleared the heads of Port Essington, and a course was then +shaped for the supposed Sahul Shoal, the northern and central parts of +which we passed over without finding any remarkable decrease in the +soundings.* + +(*Footnote. This clearly proved that our knowledge of the extent of the +Sahul Bank was very imperfect. It appears that between the latitudes 11 +degrees 0 minutes South and 11 degrees 25 minutes South, and the +longitudes 125 degrees 20 minutes East and 125 degrees 50 minutes East, +there are no less than six patches of coral known, of 12 and 16 fathoms. +It is my belief that the whole of this shoal, if it merit the name, lies +between the latitudes of 11 degrees 15 minutes South and 11 degrees 35 +minutes South, and the longitudes of 123 degrees 35 minutes East and 124 +degrees 15 minutes East.) + +ARRIVE AT TIMOR. + +The winds were singularly light from the eastward, until we approached +Timor, the South-West end of which we saw in the morning of the 15th,* +when, after passing through Samow Strait,** we anchored in 13 fathoms off +Coepang; the flagstaff of Fort Concordia bearing South-South-East a +quarter of a mile. + +(*Footnote. In passing the north-east end of Rottee a good lookout was +kept for a 5-fathom patch, laid down in the Admiralty Chart as lying four +miles east of it. Nothing, however, could be discovered of it; and close +to the place we had 50 fathoms. In Flinders' Atlas we find 50 fathoms +marked on this spot; and it is probable that the mistake has occurred in +copying, the 0 being left out, and the space dotted round, to draw +attention to the supposed shoal-water.) + +(**Footnote. The tides in Samow Strait run from one to two knots an hour, +eight hours to the northward, and four in the opposite direction. The +time of high-water at Coepang at the full and change is half-past eleven, +when the rise is twelve feet. On the north side of Timor, between it and +Ombaye, the current sets to the westward at the rate of from two to four +knots an hour, in the south-east monsoon; but close to the Timor shore it +sets to windward. Ships make the passage to the eastward during its +prevalence by keeping close to the north sides of the Lomblen, Pantar, +and Ombaye Islands, where they find a favourable current, and winds from +the southward drawing through the straits separating the islands. There +is no anchorage between Pantar and Ombaye; but on the south side of +Timor, at the mouth of the Naminie River, and twenty-five miles further +eastward, and also at the east point, inside the small island of Pulo +Jackie, there are good anchorages in from 10 to 15 fathoms. The southern +coast of Timor is washed by heavy surf in either monsoon.) + +Arrangements were immediately made for watering the ship, by having the +barecas filled and carried to the boats by persons from the shore, +thereby saving our crew from exposure in this, I believe at all times, +unhealthy climate. When our stock was completed, with the additional +casks procured at Port Essington, we had sufficient for eighty days. + +We found the Resident, Mr. Gronovius, as usual, very communicative; he +was much astonished at the size of some bananas I gave him from Port +Essington. + +TIMOREES. + +I may take this opportunity of giving some additional information +respecting the Timorees. It appears that after killing an enemy they, +like the New Zealanders, preserve the head by baking it; and, during +meals, place food in the mouth of their bodiless foe. On the death of a +Rajah, a favourite slave or two is killed and buried with him; some +weapons, also, are laid in the grave, in order that the deceased may not +want for anything in the next world; this clearly shows that they have an +idea of a future state. + +The mode in which trade is carried on with the wild natives of Timor is +extremely singular. The goods intended for barter are left in parcels on +the shore; the natives come down and place against them, generally, bees' +wax, and a kind of cotton cloth, to the amount which they conceive to be +the value, when they also retire. The trader returns, and if satisfied, +takes the native's goods, leaving his own; if not, he goes away without +touching either. The natives again come down and weigh the relative value +of the heaps of merchandize, and either consent to the proffered bargain +or take away their own property. Neither party ever comes in sight of the +other; and the strictest honour is preserved in the transaction. Most of +my readers will recollect that a similar method of trading is attributed +to one of the nations of antiquity. + +A tribe of Sumbawa,* who call themselves the Danga people, have a custom +worth mentioning. They are the only tribe on that island not Mahomedans, +and worship the evil spirit, to appease whom they frequently leave a +roasted pig, with rice, at a well near a tree, a species of wild mango; +the priest, of course, reaps the benefit of this pious offering. A +similar custom prevails among the natives of Eastern Patagonia. + +(*Footnote. I may here mention, that when the great eruption took place +on this island, the report of it was heard at Macassar, nearly three +hundred miles distant, and the motion was felt by the ships at anchor +there.) + +SAIL FROM COEPANG. + +By the morning of September 24th the rough charts were completed, and +tracings, with other despatches, being deposited with the Resident, to be +forwarded to England, we sailed from Coepang. On the 26th the first +lieutenant, the surgeon, and the master, were seized with a violent +attack of cholera, which lasted twenty-four hours--another evidence of +the unhealthiness of Timor. + +The work that now lay before us was, perhaps, one of the most interesting +features of the North-West coast--a remarkable indentation, south of +Roebuck Bay, many parts of which had never been seen. Its peculiar +configuration naturally suggested the idea that a river must exist there; +and it was accordingly with great anxiety that we looked forward to the +result. I had intended to examine the eastern part of Scott's Reef in the +way; but westerly winds, which were, however, favourable for reaching our +destination, prevented us. The track we pursued was entirely new, and in +order to see if any shoals existed, we sounded every twenty miles, +without, however, getting bottom, at nearly 200 fathoms, until the 1st, +when in latitude 14 degrees 24 minutes South, and longitude 123 degrees +23 minutes East we had 70 fathoms.* + +(*Footnote. From the result of our soundings on the passage to the coast, +it would appear that a ship in 60 or 70 fathoms would be about the same +number of miles from the land between the latitude of 14 or 15 degrees +South--quality of bottom, a greyish sand, which becomes coarser as the +depth increases.) + +After midnight on the 3rd and 4th we had strong breezes of short duration +from South-East, and although a hundred miles from the nearest land to +windward, a fine kind of dust was found on the rigging, which, on +examination by a microscope, proved to consist of sand and wood ashes. + +REACH THE NORTH-WEST COAST. + +We saw the land to the southward of Roebuck Bay on October 8th, and at +noon passed four miles from Cape Bossut, which we found to be in latitude +18 degrees 42 minutes South and longitude 121 degrees 45 minutes East.* +On the south side opened a bay two miles deep, with a small high-water +inlet at its head. From thence we held a general South by West 1/2 West +course, passing along the land at the distance of from three to four +miles, in soundings of 5 and 6 fathoms, and at sunset anchored four miles +from a low sandy coast, on which the sea broke heavily. Cape Joubert,** +distant sixteen miles, was the last projection of any kind we passed. + +(*Footnote. The longitudes depend on the meridian of Coepang. which has +been considered in 123 degrees 37 minutes 0 seconds East.) + +(**Footnote. In latitude 18 degrees 58 minutes South and longitude 121 +degrees 42 minutes East. It is crested with bare white sand, and although +only forty-five feet high is a remarkable headland on this low coast.) + +APPEARANCE OF NORTH-WEST COAST. + +From that headland commenced a low, wearisome, sandy shore, which we +traced for sixty-five miles in a South-West by West direction, looking in +vain for some change in its character. Nothing beyond the coast +sand-dunes, sprinkled with vegetation, and only twenty feet high, could +be seen from the masthead, although the ship was within three miles of +the beach. This cheerless aspect was heightened by the total absence of +native fires, a fact we had never before observed in such an extent of +country, and truly significant of its want of fertility. Still, in our +sight it possessed a greater charm than it may, probably, in that of +others; as every fresh mile of coast that disclosed itself, rewarding our +enterprise whilst it disappointed our expectations, was so much added to +the domains of geography. That such an extent of the Australian continent +should have been left to be added to the portion of the globe discovered +by the Beagle was remarkable; and although day by day our hopes of +accomplishing any important discovery declined, a certain degree of +excitement was kept alive throughout. + +It was the 13th before we had made good the distance I have above +mentioned, when a reddish hillock, of fifty-six feet in elevation, in +latitude 19 degrees 48 minutes South, and longitude 120 degrees 36 +minutes East, promising a view of the interior, we went to visit it. +There was less surf on the beach than we expected, and we landed without +much difficulty. Our old friend, the black and white red-bill, or +oyster-catcher, was in readiness to greet us, accompanied by a few +families of sanderlings, two or three batches of grey plovers, and a +couple of small curlews. Crossing the beach, a line of reddish sandstone +cliffs, twelve feet in height, was ascended, and found to face a bank of +sand, held together by a sort of coarse spinifex. This bank, which ran +parallel to the coast, was narrow, subsiding into a valley three quarters +of a mile wide, on the opposite side of which rose a hummocky ridge of +coarse ferruginous sandstone formation. The valley was covered with brown +grass and detached stunted bushes. Water had recently lodged in it, as +appeared from the saucer-like cakes of earth broken and curled up over +the whole surface. The nature of the soil was shown by the heaps of earth +thrown out at the entrances of the holes of iguanas, and other burrowing +creatures; it was a mixture of sand, clay, and vegetable matter. + +VIEW OF INTERIOR. + +From the highest hillock beyond the valley a view of the interior was +obtained: it presents, like most of the portions of the continent we had +discovered, the aspect of a dreary plain, clothed with grass and detached +clumps of green brushwood. "What a strange country!" was the exclamation +that naturally burst from us all, on beholding this immense and +apparently interminable expanse, with no rise to relieve the tired eye. +As we gazed, our imaginations transported us to the Pampas of South +America, which this vast level greatly resembled, except that the motions +of no startled deer or ostriches scudding over the country, and leaving a +train of dust behind, gave life and animation to the scene. No trace of +kangaroos, or of natives, not even the sign of a fire, greeted us on this +inhospitable coast. The evidences of animal were as scanty as those of +vegetable life. + +BIRDS. + +Two brown bustards rose out of the grass; they were of the same size and +colour as those seen in the Gulf of Carpentaria, and quite as wary, which +was very singular. A couple of specimens of land birds were shot; one of +them resembled a Meliphagus, although its stomach was filled with small +beetles, finely broken up;* its head was covered with yellow pollen, out +of a flower resembling the mallow, which is frequently resorted to by +small beetles during the heat of the day, when the petal closing over +them they are extracted, with some difficulty, by the bird. The other +specimen was a brown grain-feeding kind; it invariably rested on the +ground, where in its habits, head erect, tail down, and short, sudden +run, it greatly resembled a tit-lark. + +(*Footnote. Usually observed in the specimens of this species procured by +Dr. Bynoe.) + +At daylight on the 14th we continued our exploration from the spot where +we visited the shore, marked on the chart as Red Hill; and found that the +coast trended West by South to the part fronting the Amphinome Shoals, +and that instead of the continued sandy beach were occasional low rocky +projections. Eleven miles from Red Hill, a detached rocky ledge extended +two miles from the shore, and at the end of twenty, commenced a line of +low red sandstone cliffs five miles in extent. Here we, for the first +time, saw native fires; and the country was evidently higher. + +SOLITARY ISLAND. + +October 15. + +In the evening the ship was anchored five miles from a small island, +bearing South-South-East, which we found to be in latitude 19 degrees 55 +minutes South, longitude 120 degrees 55 minutes East; and which, from its +lonely situation, was named Solitary Island. Six and nine miles North by +East from it we had crossed several lines of ripplings and shoal patches +of 4 and 5 fathoms. On visiting it next morning (16th) it was found to be +of red sandstone formation, thirty feet high, and devoid of vegetation. +Although lying a mile from the shore it is connected at low-water by a +flat of sand. From its summit the view of the interior presented a slight +change. At the distance of six miles there was a bank or rise in the +country having rather a fertile aspect, above a hundred feet high, +trending South-West with dense woodland intervening. + +On the same afternoon the ship was moved fourteen miles further on. The +many patches of ripplings we now saw in every direction westward, assured +us that the Amphinome Shoals were close at hand; on patches one and two +miles west and south of the ship there was only six and nine feet. + +VISIT THE SHORE. + +October 17. + +In the morning another party visited the shore, landing under a low +sandhill, sixty feet high, bearing South by East six miles, called Mount +Blaze, in latitude 20 degrees 0 minutes South and longitude 119 degrees +40 minutes East. This was found to stand on a projection, with two small +rocky islets on either side. Eastward from it cliffy points separating +shoal mangrove bays, formed the character of the coast; whilst in the +opposite direction extended a bay, fifteen miles wide, over the western +point of which we recognised the sandhills seen on our visit to this part +in July, 1840; the shores of this great bay were fronted for some +distance by shoal water. + +Behind Mount Blaze the country was swampy, with mangroves, for a few +miles; it then gradually rose, and on the bearing of South 7 degrees +East, distant nearly fifteen miles, were seen conical-sided flat-topped +hills about two hundred feet high. This was the first remarkable +elevation in the country we had seen during the two hundred miles of the +coastline traced by the Beagle; it appears to be the North-East +termination of the high land seen southward from the Turtle Isles. + +Some small burrowing animal had so excavated the ground in the vicinity +of Mount Blaze, that at each step we sunk in knee-deep; a few quails were +shot, but no varieties of birds were seen beyond what had been already +observed at the other points of the coast visited. + +Weighing, we stood to the westward, after making a short stretch to the +north-east; but shoal water, at the end of six miles, obliged us to go on +the other tack. The change in the direction of the flood- tide, from +westerly to northerly, did not leave much hope of our finding a passage +to the westward. At sunset the anchor was dropped in 9 fathoms, with a +shoal patch of 5 fathoms two miles to the eastward, Mount Blaze, just +visible from the masthead, bearing south sixteen miles. During the +afternoon we had crossed no less than five lines of ripplings, on which, +at low-water, there was only from 2 to 5 fathoms. + +October 19. + +After the noon observation another attempt was made to find a passage to +the westward; but at the end of eighteen miles we found ourselves embayed +among patches of ripplings and breakers. The western sandhills, seen +yesterday, bore at this time South by East fifteen miles. Two-thirds of +the distance from the shore was a continued line of broken water. +Finding, by sounding with the boats, that there was no passage for the +ship, we retraced our track east; and in the evening anchored again in 7 +fathoms, between two ridges of 4. + +AMPHINOME SHOALS. + +The outer breaker of the Amphinome Shoals bore North 37 degrees West +three miles, which placed it in latitude 19 degrees 41 minutes South and +longitude 119 degrees 24 minutes East; and as these shoals extend +eighteen miles off such low land, they may fairly be considered +dangerous. + +BEDOUT ISLAND. + +Next evening we anchored off the east side of Bedout Island, having, in +the morning, nineteen miles to the east of it and twenty-two from the +mainland, passed over a ridge of 5 fathoms. + +October 21. + +We spent the day on Bedout, the centre of which we found to be in +latitude 19 degrees 35 minutes 45 seconds South, longitude 119 degrees 08 +minutes 45 seconds East. It is a circular sand islet twenty feet high, +and half a mile in extent. Off its western side ripplings and rocks +extend nearly three miles; in other parts it is fronted by a circular +reef a mile in extent, and of a different kind from the Turtle Isle +reefs, being composed of live corallines and fan-like leaves, which +giving way readily to the feet, we suddenly found ourselves immersed +almost up to our necks; within fifty yards of the island this became +worse. The reefs and beaches abounded with turtles of two kinds, the +Mydas and a species of the Imbricated. We were in time for the noddy's +eggs; but the other birds had hatched theirs, and left for sea, returning +only at night. From their great abundance and constant visits they had +formed a kind of guano on the island. Among the varieties of the +feathered tribe was the golden plover. + +On the following afternoon we stood over, South-South-East for the main; +but were again prevented by shoal water from approaching within twelve +miles of the nearest part, which was the western point of the bay seen +from Mount Blaze. Broken water and dry sands extended between south and +east, and to the south-west the entrance of Breaker Inlet and other parts +of the last year's survey were readily distinguished. + +October 22. + +During the forenoon the boats completed the soundings, and in the evening +the ship was anchored under the North Turtle Isle. Thus terminated the +examination of this hitherto unexplored part of the coast, which had been +the field of many years' speculation. One of the most remarkable points, +is the great rise of twenty-eight feet in the tide, which can only be +accounted for by the fact of the water being heaped up in the concavity +formed by the coast; on the first part of the bight the direction of the +flood was from West, and on the latter from West-North-West. We had found +that no river or other interesting feature existed; and that it was the +most dull and uniform portion of the continent we had seen, or that could +possibly be imagined. + +BREAKER INLET. + +While I have no reason to believe that an examination of Breaker Inlet, +which, from the numerous sandbanks forming the Amphinome Shoals, has +probably a considerable outlet, would lead to a discovery of any +importance, nevertheless, I regret that the heavy surf which breaks +across its entrance at this season of the year entirely prevented my +exploring it. + +The winds we had experienced on this part of the coast were light, from +the eastward, during the night, and moderate from North-North-West to +West-South-West towards the latter part of the day, the morning being +frequently calm. On one or two occasions in the night we had slight +squalls from South-East accompanied by lightning; but, commonly speaking, +the weather was very fine, the temperature on board being generally 77, +the maximum being 82 and the minimum 75 degrees. On shore it was about +five degrees higher. + +EXMOUTH GULF. + +The necessary chronometric and magnetic observations were completed, and +a supply of turtles taken on board by the evening of the 26th, when after +leaving a paper in a bottle, recording our visit and describing the +nature of the coast eastwards, we left with the intention of exploring +Exmouth Gulf, which was the only remaining portion of the north-western +shore of the continent that had not been visited by Captain King or +ourselves. But as we were forced away from the land by southerly winds as +we approached the North-West Cape, and as there was no certainty of +procuring water, I have been obliged to content myself with the report of +a whaler who went in there and found it to be the mouth of a large inlet +conveying a vast body of water into the interior, occasionally, I +imagine, even as far as the neighbourhood of the north-east shore of +Shark's Bay, as Captain Grey speaks of finding there extensive plains of +mud and sand, at times evidently flooded by the sea and presenting no +limit in a north-east direction. + +Continuing our passage we arrived at Swan River on November 23rd. + + +CHAPTER 2.12. + +Reported Harbour. +Set out for Australind. +The Grass-tree. +Correspondence with Mr. Clifton, etc. +Sail from Gage Road. +Examination of coast. +Reach Champion Bay. +Visit Mount Fairfax and Wizard Peak. +Arid nature of country. +Want of water. +Native Grave. +The Greenough river. +Natives. +Leave Champion Bay. +Koombanah Bay. +Naturaliste Reef. +Reach South Australia. +Port Adelaide. +Proposed Railroad. +Visit Mount Barker. +Encounter Bay. +Native fishing. +Return to Adelaide. +Sail from South Australia. +Portland Bay. +Squatters. +Tour in the interior. +Fertile country. +View from the Sugarloaf. +Visit Cape Bridgewater. +Sail for Hobart. +Liberality of Sir John Franklin. +Atmospheric changes. +Arrive at Sydney. + +REPORTED HARBOUR. + +Among the news that most interested us on our arrival at Swan River, was +the report of the discovery of a harbour on the west coast, near +Moresby's Flat-topped Range. In the Surveyor General's office I was shown +a map of that portion of Western Australia by Mr. Arrowsmith, "from the +surveys of Captain Grey," whose name the port bore; and the united +authorities of this talented explorer, and this celebrated geographer, +would have removed all doubt from my mind as to the correctness of the +report to which I have alluded, even if the alleged discovery had not +taken place on a portion of the coast unvisited by Captain King or +myself. In the colony, however, very different opinions were held; and it +was confidently maintained that Port Grey, although placed, by accident +or otherwise, twelve miles to the southward, was no other than the bay we +had previously visited, called by us Champion Bay. It is true I could +trace a resemblance between their southern parts; but they differed so +widely in their northern--Port Grey being represented in the chart, and +printed description, to be perfectly safe, and sheltered in that quarter +by a point and a reef--that I saw no grounds for giving credence to the +opinion industriously circulated at Swan River, that the reef and point, +or perhaps the whole port, had been fabricated by the land-jobbers at +home. Such an opinion, however, was quite a disinterested one on their +part; as an extension of the colony northwards, and the establishment of +a settlement near Moresby's Flat-topped Range, would have led to a result +much desired by them, the occupancy, namely, of the intervening country. +It was in the neighbourhood of the harbour, the existence or identity of +which was thus called in question, that Captain Grey had reported to have +seen a fertile district; and a company had actually arrived from England +for the purpose of forming a settlement there. Mr. Clifton, the Chief +Commissioner, however, on hearing the opinion prevalent in the colony, +did not think proper to risk the lives of the people under his charge, by +conveying them to a port that might be fabulous, and to a country the +fertility of which was absolutely denied; and the destination of the new +settlement was, accordingly, provisionally changed to the shores of the +Leschenault Inlet, which held out a prospect of solid, if not brilliant, +success, and possessed advantages, which, if not dazzling, were at least +exempt from the suspicion of being visionary. + +Anxious to have further information on this subject through a personal +interview with Mr. Clifton, I accompanied His Excellency Governor Hutt +and the Surveyor General on a tour in the direction of the new +settlement, whilst the ship underwent a slight refit, and the men had a +run ashore. The survey of the Swan, from the entrance to Perth, was, +meanwhile, undertaken by Mr. Forsyth. + +THE GRASS-TREE. + +Leaving Fremantle, the first part of the road lay between low ranges of +limestone hills, and through quite a forest of grass-trees, gums +(Xanthorroea) some knobby, old and crooked, others erect and reaching the +height, occasionally, of perhaps seventeen feet, with their tufted and +overarching crests towering above those of smaller growth that were +scattered over the earth around.* + +(*Footnote. These trees, called Blackboys by the colonists, from the +resemblance they bear, in the distance, to natives, attain, it is said, a +great age, and there is a vague report that when fifty years old they are +only a foot above ground.) + +ROAD TO AUSTRALIND. + +The road passes through the township of Pinjarra, on the fertile banks of +the Murray. Where it crosses the river, the first and only great affray +took place with the natives, whose blood on that unfortunate occasion +stained the waters of the reach that now slept in peaceful beauty, as if +strife had never polluted its banks.* Here we met Mr. Clifton, who +accompanied us to his new township of Australind, to plant the germs of +which, in the wilds of Western Australia, he and his worthy family had +left England and all the comforts of society. This interesting spot is +situated on the east side of Leschenault Inlet; the approach is laid out +with much taste, the road leading along the foot of a hill covered with +wood, whilst on the right is an open growth of trees, affording every now +and then a glimpse of the beautiful estuary, with its surface just +ruffled and glittering in the rays of the setting sun. I was much struck +with the beauty of the scenery during this evening's and the morrow's +excursion, having had no idea that there was such a fertile, well +watered, and heavily timbered district so near the coast in Western +Australia.** + +(*Footnote. A spirited painting of this encounter I saw ornamenting the +walls of Captain Mears' cottage at Guildford.) + +(**Footnote. Her Majesty's dockyards are now availing themselves of this +supply of excellent timber; and its proximity to the sea must greatly +enhance the value of this part of the continent.) + +CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. CLIFTON, ETC. + +Having conversed with Mr. Clifton on the subject of the settlement he had +intended to make near Port Grey, and been made acquainted with his +reasons for doubting the existence of the harbour, and the fertility of +the surrounding country, as well as with his desire to have the question +satisfactorily set at rest, I requested him to write to me on the +subject; and on the receipt of his letter,* I communicated, also in +writing, with his Excellency, Governor Hutt, and the Surveyor-General, +Mr. Roe; the result of which correspondence was, that I determined to +examine that portion of the coast; and to afford Mr. Clifton the +opportunity of accompanying me, and with his own eyes convincing himself +of the policy or impolicy of the course he had adopted. + +(*Footnote. From which the following is an extract: Your arrival at Gage +Roads, in her Majesty's surveying vessel, Beagle, under your command, +affords me an opportunity of soliciting your able assistance towards the +solution of a question of great interest, not only to the Western +Australian Company, whom I represent, but to this colony at large; and I +feel assured that your known zeal in the cause of Geographical and +Hydrographical research will induce you, if it be within your power, to +comply with the request which I now take the liberty to make. Under these +feelings I proceed to state to you, that the Western Australian Company, +after all their plans had been formed for founding their intended Colony +of Australind, in Leschenault inlet, were led under circumstances which +occurred, and information which reached them, to abandon that intention +and to determine to fix their settlement at a port discovered by Captain +Grey, designated in England by the appellation of Port Grey, and lying on +the North-West coast of this colony, in or about the latitude of 29 +degrees south, within the limits of the district between Gantheaume Bay +and the River Arrowsmith, in which district her Majesty's Government had +permitted the Company to take possession of extensive tracts of land in +lieu of their property in other parts of Western Australia. + +Upon my arrival, however, in March last, at Port Leschenault, with the +intention of conveying in the Parkfield, with the first body of settlers +and emigrants to the new district, the Company's surveying establishment +already employed in this neighbourhood, I received such communications +from his Excellency the Governor, and such information respecting the +supposed Port Grey, and the country in its vicinity, together with a +tracing of the partial survey made by you in Champion Bay, lying in +latitude 28 degrees 47 minutes South which is presumed to be identical +with Port Grey, that I was induced, after full consultation with his +Excellency, to unite with him in opinion, that it would be proper for me +to depart from my instructions, and to found the colony under my charge +on the spot originally contemplated in Leschenault Inlet, instead of at +Port Grey, which determination I accordingly carried into effect under +the Governor's sanction. + +It naturally was my most anxious wish, as it would have been my duty, if +it had been practicable, to visit myself the supposed port, before I +took, in conjunction with his Excellency, a step involving so great a +personal responsibility, and so seriously affecting all the predetermined +plans of the company, settlers, and emigrants. I have since made every +practical endeavour, but without success, to obtain means of proceeding +to the district in question, in order to establish the fact by actual +observation and research, whether that district does or does not afford a +proper site for the establishment of a new settlement on an extensive +scale, or is totally inapplicable for it, according to the information +which led to the decision come to. And as the result of such examination +involves measures which may prove of very great importance to the local +interests of this colony, and even to the interests of the +mother-country, I venture to submit to your consideration, whether you +would not deem that inquiry of sufficient importance to justify your +proceeding to Champion Bay, in her Majesty's sloop, Beagle, under your +command, to ascertain fully the capabilities of the country in its +immediate vicinity, and to determine whether there be another harbour or +not at the place assigned to Port Grey on the map recently published by +Arrowsmith. + +If your proceeding to that part of this coast should be within the scope +of the service assigned to you by the Lords Commissioners of the +Admiralty, or the importance of the solution of these questions, on which +such extensive interests and operations depend, should induce you to take +upon yourself the responsibility of going there, I earnestly request you +will allow me the honour of accompanying you, for the purpose of +fulfilling my duty to the Directors of the Company, and to the very +numerous body of persons interested in the formation of the intended +settlement under them.) + +EXAMINATION OF COAST. + +On the 12th, accordingly, we sailed from Gage Roads, and next morning +closed with the land in latitude 29 degrees 13 minutes South being +thirteen miles south of the position assigned to Port Grey in +Arrowsmith's map, before alluded to. From thence we followed the shore at +a distance of between three and five miles, in soundings of 7 and 12 +fathoms; the first part trended North by West two miles, and then +North-West 1/2 West to Point Grey, lying five miles South by East of +Point Moore (a bight of that width being formed between) without any sign +of the sought-for harbour. The general appearance of the coast was that +of high sandhills, partly covered with vegetation; immediately in the +rear of which there appeared a range rather higher, and of a less barren +appearance; behind these again, at a distance of eight or nine miles, +rose a series of singular table-topped broken ranges, terminating +southwards in about latitude 29 degrees 5 minutes South. Mount Fairfax +and Wizard Peak are the most conspicuous objects in this range. + +REACH CHAMPION BAY. + +Owing to the water being very smooth, we found ourselves embayed on +approaching the point of the above mentioned bight, by a reef, the outer +part of which bore South 37 degrees West fifteen miles from Mount +Fairfax. The delay caused in clearing this danger, made it evening by the +time we reached Champion Bay, in latitude 28 degrees 47 minutes South, +from whence we had previously examined the coast northward for nearly +thirty miles. We had, therefore, now satisfactorily ascertained that, +excepting Champion Bay, there was no good anchorage on the coast between +the latitudes of 28 degrees 20 minutes South and 29 degrees 20 minutes +South.* + +(*Footnote. For a description of Champion Bay, see above.) + +From what I have said it will appear, that the point represented in +Arrowsmith's map, as sheltering the north side, has no real existence. It +is probable, that the following passage from Mr. Moore's Journal, may +have had some share in suggesting the contrivance. + +"To the south of the tongue of land which forms the bay, there is also +another bay, which would be completely sheltered from all northerly +winds, so as to combine, between the two bays, perfect shelter at all +seasons of the year." + +VISIT MOUNT FAIRFAX. + +This point being set at rest, we proceeded with a large armed party at +daylight on the morning of the 15th, to examine the country. Landing, we +took an East by South direction for Mount Fairfax, the nearest and most +commanding point. About one mile and a half from the beach, we crossed +the dry bed of a stream, trending South by East about twenty yards wide, +with banks from twenty to thirty feet high, composed of reddish earth and +sand, having considerable portions of ironstone in it. A few small +tea-trees of the colonists grew in the sand that formed the dry bed of +the stream. Our course continued afterwards uninterrupted, over a +gradually rising plain, of a sandy scrubby nature, until reaching the +foot of Mount Fairfax, when we crossed another small watercourse, +trending South by West where, for the first time, we noticed a solitary +stunted casuarina. Mount Fairfax is the southern and most elevated part +of an isolated block, forming Moresby's Flat-topped Range. It rests on a +reddish, sandy, sloping plain, on which were occasionally noticed +fragments of quartz and ironstone, which latter formation is the +character of Mount Fairfax, and apparently of the neighbouring heights. +Having completed our observations, which place Mount Fairfax 582 feet +above the level of the sea, we continued our journey to the south-east, +in the direction of Wizard Peak. Two miles, over a scrubby sandy plain, +brought us again to the Chapman or Greenough. Here, for the first time, +there was an appearance of fertility; but only in the valley of the +river, which was about a quarter of a mile wide. + +With the exception of a few brackish pools, the bed, as where we before +crossed it, was dry, and formed of white sand, growing in which was a +small crooked kind of drooping gum, besides a species of wattle and +tea-tree. Its course was about South by West and appeared to come from +the valleys, formed by the ranges in the rear of Mount Fairfax, and north +of Wizard Peak. Continuing our journey, we proceeded over an undulating +plain, on the higher parts of which a reddish sand and ironstone gravel +universally prevailed; in the lower parts, and near the watercourses, the +soil approached a light mould, and produced the warran, so much sought +after by the natives. In all this district the vegetation was of the +worst description--the trees, which grew only in the valleys, were small +kinds of banksia, wattles, and drooping gums--not large enough to furnish +building materials. + +ASCEND WIZARD PEAK. + +In the course of the afternoon we reached the summit of that remarkable +and almost solitary pyramidal hill, Wizard Peak,* which we found composed +of large blocks of ironstone, having a most powerful effect on the +needle, and changing its direction in different places ten degrees. Here +we noticed two or three stunted xanthorrhoeas growing on the South-West +side of the hill; and a few small casuarinas, and wattles were thinly +scattered on its summit, which, by barometric measurement, was found to +be 715 feet above the level of the sea. Part of the range lying +immediately north was absolutely a mass of bare ironstone. This view was +very commanding--to the North-North-West and North-East lay extensive +valleys, all of which appeared through a spy-glass to be of the same arid +nature; for a few miles to the eastward, and a great many to the +northward, the formation of the country was of the same flat, broken, and +irregular character, but no part visible appeared to be of greater +elevation than that on which we stood; to seawards the appearance of the +country was that of an undulating plain, with patches of stunted woodland +widely scattered. + +(*Footnote. Distant eleven miles from Champion Bay.) + +APPEARANCE OF COUNTRY FROM WIZARD PEAK. + +After attentively examining with my glass, resting on the ground, all +that lay within the extensive range of vision afforded by Wizard Peak,* I +could not help congratulating Mr. Clifton on his display of judgment, in +taking the responsible step I have mentioned; and it is to be deeply +regretted, that one so energetic, and so well adapted for the duty he had +undertaken, should have been totally abandoned by those who sent him out. +It was now clear that this part of the country was not fit for the +settler, being deficient in the three most necessary articles, water, +timber for building, and food for stock.** It was also now clear that the +opinion expressed at Swan River, regarding both the harbour and the +quality of the country was substantially correct. But it was not until it +became apparent to my own eyes, that I could believe anyone could be so +reckless as to induce a large number of individuals, including women and +children, by false, or at least exaggerated representations, to sever the +ties of kindred and of friendship, and become voluntary exiles to a far +country, in search of a new and more prosperous home; whilst in lieu of +the promised streams and fertile plains, nothing in reality awaited them +but sterility--the certain loss of property, and the imminent risk of +their lives. + +(*Footnote. The reader will see my position, at this time, together with +the track of the Beagle's party, and that of Captain Grey's, laid down in +one of the charts accompanying this work.) + +(**Footnote. Mr. Moore's description of the country near Champion Bay, is +as follows: "Judging by the eye at that distance, the entire space, as +far as we had any opportunity of seeing, after going a little way back +from the coast, on the slope to the hills, upon the hills, among the +hills, beyond the hills, and, in short, everywhere, as far as the eye +could discern, appeared a grassy country, thinly sprinkled with some low +trees or shrubs, perhaps acacias. If this be the case, and there be water +sufficient, of which there is no reason to doubt, this may certainly turn +out to be the finest district for sheep pasture that this colony can +possess." This testimony, one would have thought, was much too vague to +justify the expression of any decided opinion as to the capabilities of +the country. Mr. Moore judged entirely from a distant view with the naked +eye: he could not discern the nature of the trees, does not assert +positively that the land was grassy, is unable to speak with certainty as +to the existence of sufficient water, and ventures only to draw the +conditional conclusion that this district MAY turn out to be the finest +the colony can possess. + +Mr. Bynoe, who accompanied me in my excursion over this part of the +continent, writes as follows respecting it: "There can be but one opinion +of the country in the vicinity of the supposed Port Grey, namely, that it +is comparatively sterile. All the soil passed over, during our two days' +journey, was of a sandy nature; and the gumtrees, particularly in the +open country, were stunted and gnarled. Isolated clumps, however, of a +taller, straighter, and smoother character, were met with in the dried +watercourses. Near Wizard Peak, the warran, or native yam seemed to grow +in great abundance, and to some considerable depth. There the soil could +be pretty well judged of; and the deeper the holes had been dug by the +natives to obtain the root, the more pure was the sand; it was only the +surface soil that held decayed vegetable matter. Twice during the trip, +near the bases of cliffs, I saw a few acres of alluvial deposit, two very +circumscribed beds, which were lost in the bottom of a watercourse, +sliding, as it were, gradually under the sand. Near Moresby's Range, +where the soil became freely mixed with ironstone and pebbles, the +vegetation was more stunted, consisting principally of a prickly bush, +mingled with coarse brown grass. During the whole time of our ramble, we +saw only three kangaroos, and five emus; and in some parts of the tall +scrub were wallaby tracks.") + +Descending, we found the party left below in the dry bed of a watercourse +had failed in their endeavour to procure water by digging; we, therefore, +as we supposed, had no resource but to return, exhausted as we were, to +the brackish water-pools we had seen in the Chapman or Greenough. + +NATIVE WELL AND BURIAL PLACE. + +Happily, however, our dog discovered a deep hole under a drooping gum, +which proved to be a native well, and after clearing and digging deeper, +afforded our thirst relief. The soil through which this well was sunk was +a light alluvial deposit, based on sand six feet below the surface. +Numerous native paths and deep holes, from which the warran root had been +extracted, encircle this spot; some neighbouring huts of a superior +structure gave us snug quarters for the night; Wizard Peak bearing South +50 seconds East about a mile distant. + +At break of dawn we resumed our exploration. The morning was dull and +cloudy, thermometer 59 degrees; on the previous day its greatest height +had been 85 degrees. Two miles from our bivouac, we fell in with a recent +native grave--a circular pit three yards in diameter, filled within a +foot of the surface with sand, carefully smoothed over. Small sticks, +some with red horizontal marks painted on them, and others scraped, with +the shavings tastefully twisted round, ornamented the edge of the grave; +a large semicircular fence fronted the south-east side; and the +neighbourhood bore evidence, in the shape of several destroyed huts, of +its having been deserted by the companions of the dead. After walking at +least five miles, we again made the Chapman or Greenough, above a mile +south of the point at which we before met it, and pursuing its usual +course between South and South-South-West. The bed was still dry sand, +but we found a small hole of brackish water in a hollow. Crossing, we +continued our west direction, and were surprised to find ourselves again +on the river; a line of red cliffs thirty feet high, forming the south +bend, had changed its course to the northward. We subsequently again +crossed two dry parts of it; from an elevation on the South-West side of +the last, Mount Fairfax bore North 50 degrees East and Wizard Peak South +58 degrees East. + +RECOGNITION BEND. + +Hitherto I had been in doubt whether this was the Chapman or Greenough of +Captain Grey; but here finding that a branch trended southwards, I was +convinced it was the latter, and gave this part the name of Recognition +Bend, as it further led to my discovering that Captain Grey had mistaken +the hills in Captain King's chart,* and that, therefore, his description +of the country refers to another portion; and it is only justice to him +to state, that considering he was travelling for his life, and the great +hardships he endured, it is surprising how the information collected was +obtained. + +(*Footnote. This error Captain Grey candidly acknowledged in the +following letter to me, afterwards published by his authority in the +South Australian Register. + +Government House, Adelaide, January 28th, 1842. + +My dear Sir, + +I have attentively read your letter to the Honourable the +Surveyor-General of Western Australia; I have also considered the +observations made by you to me, relative to the error you suppose I have +fallen into in mistaking the Wizard Peak of Captain King for the hill +named by him Mount Fairfax; and I find that I have certainly fallen into +this error, a by no means unlikely one, considering the very similar +character of the singular group of hills, called Moresby's Flat-topped +Range, and the circumstances under which I was journeying. Consequently +the country I have described as lying near Mount Fairfax, lies near some +other hill to the north of Mount Fairfax, and the country I have +described as lying near Wizard Hill lies near Mount Fairfax, being placed +from ten to twelve miles south of its true latitude. + +The mistake arose thus: I carried Captain King's chart, and having only a +Kater's compass with me, on recognizing what I considered to be Mount +Fairfax, I assumed the latitude of that hill as laid down on the chart to +be my true latitude, and made an entry in my journal accordingly. + +On substituting the name of Mount Fairfax for Wizard Hill, the +description of the small portions of the country traversed by us in +common, will be found to coincide almost exactly...I am, my dear Sir, +yours faithfully, G. GREY. + +I need scarcely add, that Captain Grey having been obliged to assume his +latitude, none of his positions, during this harassing journey, can be +expected to be accurate.) + +MOUTH OF THE GREENOUGH. + +From this point we proceeded one mile west over a dry, arid plain, +covered with yellow and white everlasting flowers of small growth: a +little patch of woodland, consisting of a species of wattle and a very +small kind of gum, here delayed our progress. The ground beneath these +trees was entirely barren of vegetation; but emerging from them, we came +upon the only piece of grass of a useful nature seen in the route; it +was, however, quite parched, and occupied a space only of three or four +acres. From thence to the coast dunes, to reach which we made a detour to +the South-West walking over about six miles of country, all was scrub and +sand. On the low ridge, lying immediately behind the coast range of +sandhills, limestone occasionally cropped out. Embarking, we proceeded in +a boat to examine a small estuary, seen from Mount Fairfax, at the +northern part of the bay. This we found to be separated from the sea by a +low bank of sand, thirty feet wide and five high, over which the sea +appeared in gales to enter; but from the manner in which the sandhills +overlapped at the mouth, it was not possible to detect the entrance from +seawards. We landed and traced it for a mile in an east direction, until +we proved it to be the mouth of the Greenough; the water was entirely +salt, and the banks, in some places seventy feet high, were composed of +limestone. Near the head of this estuary we discovered the place where +Captain Grey crossed it, as described in the following extract from his +notes communicated to Lord John Russell, then Secretary for the Colonies. + +CHARACTER OF COUNTRY. + +"The character of the country again changed, and for the next two miles +and a half the plains were sandy, and covered with scrub. At the end of +another mile we reached a river, about twenty-five yards wide; it was +salt where we made it, and it was so shallow, that we soon found a place +where, by jumping from rock to rock, we could cross it. This river +discharged itself into a bay;* it ran rather from the South of East. +[East of South?] Four miles further, South by East, were sandy plains, +with scrub, etc." + +(*Footnote. This was doubtless Champion Bay; but in our examination of +the coast, we did not see anything of the bay or harbour which Captain +Grey speaks of in his work (volume 2 page 35) about nine miles north of +the Greenough, and which he supposed to be Champion Bay, "since +denominated," he says, "Port Grey." According to the true latitude of +Champion Bay, the bay in question would be in about 28 degrees 38 minutes +South or nearly twenty-two miles north of the position assigned to Port +Grey in Arrowsmith's map, before alluded to.) + +Thus terminated our exploration of this part of the country, called, by +Captain Grey, the Province of Victoria; and certainly all we had seen of +it deserved the character of sterility, which in some measure it appears +to retain further northward, as we learn from the report of Lieutenant +Helpman, who has recently visited it in the colonial schooner Champion. +We did not, on our route, fall in with any native, but on reaching the +boat, found that a party of five men had approached the beach, and held +friendly communication with Mr. Pasco, who, in exchange for a +handkerchief or two, had obtained from them a hunger belt, composed of +wallaby furs, a throwing stick, and a nose-piece of kangaroo bone. They +were entirely naked, and slightly scarred, but were not smeared with the +red pigment called wilgy, and had their hair knotted upon the crown of +their head, like the natives of the neighbourhood of King's Sound. + +SAIL FROM CHAMPION BAY. + +On the morning of the 16th we were again on our way southwards, with, +strange to say at that season of the year, westerly winds, which +prevailed for the three succeeding days. + +KOOMBANAH BAY. + +After touching at Swan River (where, finding His Excellency the Governor +still absent, an account of our cruise was left with the +Surveyor-General) we reached Koombanah Bay on the 27th. Mr. Forsyth, whom +I had sent overland, had completed the survey of this anchorage, and +Leschenault Inlet, which it joins in the south corner by a narrow boat +channel. The wreck of a large whale ship in the head of the bay shows the +folly of attempting to ride out the winter gales to which it is exposed; +but this may be remedied by a breakwater thrown out from Point Casuarina, +of which nature has laid the foundation in the reef that extends out +across the bay in the desired direction. The strong outset from the +estuary during the rainy season materially lessens the strain upon the +cables of ships caught there by a gale. The peculiarity in the formation +of this neighbourhood consists in some basaltic columns on the coast +close to Point Casuarina. + +We devoted the 28th to making observations,* etc.; and I was surprised to +find that this part of the coast was laid down four miles too much to the +northward. + +(*Footnote. These observations were made on the beach, midway between +Point Casuarina and the mouth of the estuary, which spot they place in +latitude 33 degrees 19 minutes 10 seconds South and longitude 0 degrees 7 +minutes 00 seconds West of Swan River. From a sandhill, 190 feet high, +bearing South 11 degrees West, six-tenths of a mile from that spot, I +found that the highest part of the Darling Range, Mount William, bore +North 40 degrees 6 minutes East thirty-three miles, and was in height +1720 feet; and that Mount Leonard, another excrescence on this range bore +South 81 degrees 44 minutes East distant thirteen miles and seven-tenths, +and was of an elevation of 1270 feet; whilst the summit of Cape +Naturaliste bore South 65 degrees West and the visible extreme South 66 +degrees 50 minutes West which confirmed the error I had before remarked +in the position assigned it in the chart, being four miles too far north. +All the above bearings are true. The rise of the tide, and the time of +high-water, are the same as at Swan River. + +ARRIVE AT SOUTH AUSTRALIA. + +Daylight, on the 29th, found us outside Koombanah Bay, running to the +westward before a light land breeze. From the offing, this part of the +western shore of the continent was much more prepossessing than any we +had before seen. The outline of the Darling Range, here approaching +within fourteen miles of the sea, and broken only by Mount Leonard and +the gorge of the Harvey, was sharply pencilled against the eastern sky +that glowed with the pure light of morning; whilst the country between +was clothed with trees of such magnitude that their verdant summits could +be seen, over the coast sandhills, stretching away in one sea of foliage +as far as the eye could reach. + +The course we held led us within five miles of the north side of +Naturaliste Reef,* in 29 fathoms; the depth we found sixteen miles west +of it was 60 fathoms, and half a mile south of it 26 fathoms. It partakes +of the error in latitude previously discovered in Cape Naturaliste, which +is distant sixteen miles, and bears, when over the centre of it, South 2 +1/2 degrees West (true). + +(*Footnote. A circular patch of breakers half a mile in extent, with, +according to report, six and nine feet water on it.) + +Being desirous of confirming our meridian distances along the south +coast, we visited for the purpose King George's Sound and South +Australia, at which latter place we arrived on the morning of January +26th, 1842. Since our former visit, a change had taken place in the +governorship of the colony; and though it was with great regret that we +learnt Colonel Gawler had left for England, we were glad he had found a +worthy successor in our brother explorer Captain Grey. + +His Excellency and the merchants expressing a wish that the Beagle should +visit the port, no man of war having yet done so; and being anxious +myself to examine the capabilities of the place, as well as to complete +our survey of twenty-three miles of the eastern shore of Spencer's Gulf, +on the afternoon of the 29th the Beagle was running into Port Adelaide.* +The ladies of the Governor, the Surveyor-General, and others, honoured us +with their presence on the passage round.** + +(*Footnote. Besides the light vessel off the bar at Port Adelaide, a +flagstaff close to the southward at the pilot station serves to point out +the entrance to strangers.) + +(**Footnote. I have already given some account of this port; and here, +therefore, I need do no more than refer the reader to the accompanying +chart.) + +PROPOSED RAILROAD. + +It was the examination I made on this occasion of Colonel Gawler's +excellent road between the port and Adelaide, which convinced me that a +portion of it might easily be converted into a railroad, as there is +sufficient width for a single line of rails without detracting from its +present value. That such an undertaking would prove of great advantage to +the colony there can be no doubt; and it is equally certain that it would +be profitable to those engaged in it. The exports and imports of South +Australia are, year by year, rapidly increasing; and now that its vast +mineral resources have been discovered, and are in progress of +development, no bounds can be set to its probable wealth and prosperity. +A railroad would be sure to attract a large amount of traffic even at +present. As, however, the Port of Adelaide only admits vessels of +moderate draught, large ships must discharge part of their cargo outside, +or at Holdfast Roads; between which place and Adelaide a railroad might +also be carried without any difficulty, there being a complete level the +whole way. + +VISIT MOUNT BARKER. + +Being desirous of seeing a little more of this fertile part of the +continent, I left Adelaide accordingly, after sunset, on January 31st, +for Mount Barker,* and before sunrise next day visited its summit, nearly +1700 feet high, in order, if possible, to obtain a view in the clear +atmosphere of early morning of Lake Alexandrina, or Victoria, and the +river Murray. In this, however, I was disappointed, the weather being +hazy in that direction, so that nothing could be seen but the extensive +scrub on the eastern side of the river, stretching away like a +brown-coloured sea. Mount Barker, which may be recognised by a +saddle-shaped hill to the south of it, lies about thirty miles South-East +by East from Adelaide; the latter part of the road between is hilly; from +its foot a strip of very rich land, about one mile wide and three long, +extends to the south-west, in the direction of Willunga, on our way to +which I noticed several similar blocks. Following the southerly course of +the Finnis, at that time a dry rich flat, we entered a hilly picturesque +country with deep fertile valleys. Tracks of wild cattle were numerous on +the ridges, but we saw none, and were again disappointed by the haze that +prevailed throughout the day, of a view of the surrounding country. In +the evening we reached Willunga, distant thirty-five miles from Mount +Barker; though sight-seeing had taken us, during the day, over fifty +miles of country. This township is prettily situated at the western foot +of the hills on a woodland slope, bordered by the waters of the Gulf, at +a distance of about six miles. + +(*Footnote. Named after the unfortunate Captain Barker by his friend +Captain Sturt.) + +ENCOUNTER BAY. + +Our party was to have been here joined by Governor Grey, who, however, +did not arrive till late next morning; when, after examining the slate +quarries in the neighbourhood, where the cleavage and quality equalled +any I have seen in Wales, we left for Encounter Bay, bearing nearly +south-east. The first three miles of the road lay over stony ridges; and +the next eighteen traversed the worst part of the province, a sandy, +scrubby, slightly undulating country, about five hundred feet above the +sea. We were glad to find ourselves descending from this wearisome +sterile tract upon some rich flats at the head of the river Hindmarsh, +named after the first governor of the colony. These we followed four +miles in a South-South-East direction, where meeting the river, its +tortuous course led to the southward for about five miles. Where it joins +the sea, in the north-western corner of Encounter Bay, a township, also +named Hindmarsh, had been laid out, which will, doubtless, be a pleasant +summer residence, as we felt a great change in the temperature; indeed +the evening was quite bleak, with a moderate breeze from seaward. + +I was naturally much interested in this part of my journey, being anxious +to see if the shelter here existing merited the name, given in the chart, +of Victor Harbour; but the only protection, excepting for a small vessel +in the north-west corner, and from northerly and westerly winds, is under +a little island, where it is possible one or two vessels may lie. From +Hindmarsh I saw the entrance of Lake Alexandrina, among some sandhills at +the entrance of which Captain Barker was murdered by the natives; a +circumstance which gave rise to the name of Encounter Bay, and attached a +melancholy interest to the spot. + +NATIVE MODE OF FISHING. + +Here for the first time, I met a Murray River native among a party of +others. He was certainly the finest Australian in make I had ever seen, +being robust and stout, like a South Sea Islander. A German Missionary, +who had a native school at Hindmarsh, took us to see a curious method of +catching fish resorted to at this place, which, as it has not been +noticed by Mr. Eyre, I shall describe. A party of natives, each provided +with a large square piece of net, rolled up, with a stick at either end, +swam out to a certain distance from shore, and spread themselves into a +semicircle. Every man then relinquished one of the sticks round which his +piece of net was rolled, to his right-hand neighbour, and received +another from his left; when, bringing the two together, a great seine was +formed. They now swam in, followed by other natives, who, by throwing +stones and splashing the water, frightened the fish, and prevented them +from getting out. + +VISIT RAPID BAY. + +Leaving Encounter Bay, we for some distance followed the left bank of the +Inman, when the road turned off to the westward. The country was good in +patches, till we made a cattle-station of Mr. Hacks, near Yankalilla Bay; +when, instead of a succession of forested hills and dales, we passed over +extensive treeless downs, contrasting strikingly in appearance with the +woody country around. Here we pitched our tents for the night: and next +morning were deprived of the company of His Excellency, who was obliged +to return to Adelaide; whilst Messrs. Macfarlane, Burr, and myself, who +were mounted from the station, went to Rapid Bay, lying about fifteen +miles South-West by West. As there was some difficulty in catching the +horses, it was 10 A.M. before we got away. I was by no means pleased with +my mount; I had suspected that all was not right by an exchange of looks, +I caught the overseer and stockman indulging in, as I threw my leg over +as ugly a hammer-headed, standing-over brute as ever man crossed; but +with the aid of a severe bit and a sharp pair of spurs I kept him alive, +and he only came down twice during the journey, which, although over a +very hilly country, was performed in four hours. After taking some +refreshment, we started at 4 P.M. for Adelaide, distant nearly sixty +miles. + +MOUNT TERRIBLE. + +We crossed the Myponga; and led our horses down a winding path on the +almost precipitous side of Mount Terrible, well worthy its name, just as +the sun was shedding his last rays over the waters of the Gulf, that +stretched away westward, apparently, from our feet; the white sails of a +coaster here and there dotting the blue expanse. Hitherto the road had +been over a succession of hills and dales, with occasionally a patch of +pretty scenery; but from the foot of Mount Terrible a level, +lightly-timbered piece of country extended to the Unkaparinga, which we +crossed, passing through the township of Noarlinga, on its north bank. + +After stopping to bait the horses, we continued our ride; but it was now +so very dark that I lost all the beauty of this part of the country, and +from the undulations in the road I could easily imagine that many a +pretty glen was veiled from us by the darkness. Getting off the track, we +became entangled among some high five-railed fences, from which we were +extricated by the sagacity of my horse, belonging to the mounted police; +on being given his head, he soon brought us back upon the road to +Adelaide, where we arrived about midnight, having ridden, since 10 A.M., +nearly ninety miles. We had scarcely reached the town before a hot wind +set in, which lasted forty-eight hours, when a squall from seaward +relieved the gasping inhabitants: at one time the thermometer at the +public offices was 158 degrees. + +SAIL FROM SOUTH AUSTRALIA. + +We sailed from South Australia on February 7th, but it was not until the +forenoon of the 9th that we cleared Backstairs Passage, passing half a +mile from the reef fronting the east end of Kangaroo Island, in 16 +fathoms; the south-eastern part of this island is a steep rocky shore, +with few sinuosities. Southerly winds brought us in sight of the land at +daylight on the 11th. The most remarkable features were Mounts Gambier +and Schanck; the summit of the latter, the least conspicuous, is flat, +with a hollow in the centre. According to my observations, it is in +longitude 10 degrees 29 minutes West of Sydney. The ship's position, just +before dark, was ten miles North 65 degrees West from Cape Bridgewater, +which is a hummocky cliff-faced point of land, separated from the main by +a low neck. + +ARRIVE AT PORTLAND BAY. + +February 12. + +Finding ourselves still off this part of the coast, which was laid down +three miles too much to the northward, I resolved, for the better means +of determining this fact by observations on shore, to go to the nearest +anchorage, Portland Bay, where we arrived in the evening. I had another +object in visiting this place, namely, that of helping to determine the +141st meridian, which had been fixed on as the western boundary of the +colony of New South Wales. + +The approach to this anchorage is remarkable, and cannot escape the +memory of anyone who has seen it; for the information of those who have +not, I give a woodcut.* + +(*Footnote. Lawrence Isles lie off the point forming the south side of +Portland Bay.) + +Our anchorage was in 7 fathoms, midway between the bluff on either side +of the settlement, which we were surprised to find had already assumed +the appearance of a town, lying in the western corner of the bay, on a +sloping grassy bank. + +Here I met Mr. C.J. Tyers, government surveyor, who had laid out the +township of Portland. As he had also made an accurate survey of the Bay, +little remained for us except to test its qualities, which the prevalence +of easterly winds gave us an opportunity of doing. They at first caused a +little anxiety, as the anchorage was exposed in this quarter; but this +feeling rapidly subsided on our discovering the excellence of the holding +ground--mud with a coating of sand, out of which we had some difficulty +in weighing our anchors. + +NEW SOUTH WALES BOUNDARY. SQUATTERS. + +At Portland I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Mr. Stephen +Henty,* the leader of an enterprising family who had been the hardy +pioneers of civilization, in discovering and laying open the fertile +districts of this part of the continent, and under whose fostering care +Portland has risen from a mere whaling station to its present prosperity. +Such being the case, it is with regret that I am obliged to say that Mr. +Henty received no consideration from Government when the land was put up +for sale, being obliged to bid against the public for ground he had +brought under notice, and spent years of labour in getting into +cultivation.** + +(*Footnote. My observations refer to this gentleman's new house, which +they place in latitude 38 degrees 20 minutes 45 seconds South and +longitude 9 degrees 36 minutes 22 seconds West of Sydney, by satisfactory +meridian distances to the latter place, and from South Australia. +Preferring Mr. Tyers' difference of longitude by triangulation to the +east entrance point of the Glenelg River, 37 minutes 29 seconds, which is +1 minute 27 seconds more than his chronometric measurement; the mouth of +the Glenelg will be 10 degrees 13 minutes 51 seconds West of Sydney. By +Mr. Tyers' triangulation, calculated by Captain Owen Stanley from Port +Phillip, Batman's Hill, with my longitude of the latter 6 degrees 16 +minutes 17 seconds West of Sydney, the Glenelg is West of Sydney 10 +degrees 14 minutes 02 seconds, which is 57 seconds less than Mr. Tyers' +calculation. The longitude of Sydney, by different observers, ranges +between 151 degrees 12 minutes 0 seconds and 151 degrees 17 minutes 0 +seconds; but, as I myself believe 151 degrees 16 minutes to be within a +minute of the truth, the Glenelg will, accordingly, by my observations be +in 141 degrees 02 minutes 09 seconds East and therefore within the New +South Wales territory, the limit of which it had been supposed to mark. +If the 141st degree had been selected as the boundary of the colony, with +reference to the longitude of Sydney, there would not be much difficulty +attending its determination.) + +(**Footnote. The squatter, who often at great risk locates himself in a +remote spot, and renders such essential service to the mother country by +finding new lands, yea new homes, for the surplus population, merits much +greater encouragement than he receives, particularly in instances similar +to that of Mr. Henty, whose station at Portland was, for years, hundreds +of miles removed from other occupied parts. This gentleman's case makes +it clear at once that something ought to be done for the squatter. His +comfortable house and garden he was obliged to leave to make room for a +street of the new township; but this would not have been very hard had he +been given an allotment in lieu; which, however, as I have stated, was +not done; and he was compelled to witness the labour of his hands +entirely swept away, and found himself, after years of toil, placed +exactly in the same position with those who came to enjoy the fruits of +his enterprise. + +But the greatest hardship sustained by the squatter is the Special Survey +system, according to which, anyone desirous to become a purchaser to the +extent of twenty thousand acres may choose his land where he pleases. A +party clubs together and finds out spots, that have been improved by +squatters, with a view of purchasing them when able; many of these are +often included in one special survey block: and even if the squatter is +able to purchase the rich and hardly-won small patch he occupies, the +special survey party, generally a knot of jobbers, have the preference. +This is apparently for the benefit of the crown, twenty thousand pounds +being thus added to the revenue under the pound per acre system; but it +is certainly not advantageous to the country, as the large purchasers +seldom buy for occupation, but for sale; and the smallholder, the +squatter, is driven from the land in distress. I have seen instances of +persons being utterly ruined in this way. My own opinion is, that the +squatter ought to be allowed to purchase the land he occupies by private +contract from government; or that an allowance should be made him, +equivalent to his improvements.) + +The detention we had experienced afforded me an opportunity of visiting +the country; and having just seen between two and three hundred miles of +the Province of South Australia, I was glad of the chance of comparing +these two parts of the continent. Accordingly, after making a series of +magnetical observations, and others for the errors of the chronometers, I +left Portland one morning in company with Mr. Tyers. Taking Mr. Henty's +road to the northward we soon passed the rich land surrounding Portland, +and entered a stringybark forest, eight miles in extent. Then crossing a +heathy tract we came to the Fitzroy, distant fifteen miles from Portland. +Here, as elsewhere, the presence of water improves the soil, for along +the banks of the river there was some good land. This was also the case +near a hill just beyond it, called Mount Eckersley. where I saw Sir +Thomas Mitchell's initials cut in a tree at the time when he explored +this country, and found to his surprise that Mr. Henty had a station in +Portland Bay. + +EXCURSION INTO THE INTERIOR. + +With the exception of the flats near the Crawford, twenty miles from the +Fitzroy, the road lies through a poor country, until it approaches Mr. J. +Henty's station, fifteen miles further. Here we appeared to have turned +our backs on the bad land; and entered a tract of country in which the +herbage is so excellent that an acre is capable of feeding one sheep, +whereas in other parts three or four are required. + +From a pointed hill, called the Sugarloaf, fifty-eight miles from +Portland, I had an extensive view of this fertile district: the outlines +of those magnificent mountains, the Victoria and Grampian ranges, that +completed the distant part of the landscape, to the eastward, were +distinctly defined against the clear morning sky; whilst, in the +foreground, grassy round-topped hills, rose on either side of wide +valleys sparingly dotted with trees, marking the course of the streams +that meander through them, and the margin of the singular circular +waterholes, with sides so steep as to render it necessary to cut through +them to enable the cattle to drink, that were distributed around as if +formed by art, rather than by nature. Westward, I saw the winding course +of the Glenelg, and was told that some of the squatters had located +themselves on its banks, and that others were even talking of stations +(which they have since made) as far as the volcanic mountains, Schanck +and Gambier, where there is some rich country, recently visited from +Adelaide, by Governor Grey, who has discovered that the barrier of desert +between New South Wales and South Australia, is less marked than was +supposed; there being patches of good land intervening, so that at no +very distant day, we may hope to see the whole of the coast, from Port +Phillip to Spencer's Gulf, supporting a scattered white population. + +I noticed that there was a vast superiority in the soil on the north-west +side of the hills; but saw none equal in richness to the five-mile patch +at Mount Eckersley. + +The steep sides of a part of the valley of the Wannon, however, a few +miles to the eastward of the Sugarloaf, are very fertile, and being +clothed with patches of woodland, form extremely pretty scenery. The +rocks of this part of the country are chiefly trappean; in the immediate +neighbourhood of Portland, they consist of limestone, ferruginous +sandstone, and trap. + +CAPE BRIDGEWATER. + +After having extended our ride to above seventy miles, we returned, +having satisfied ourselves, from what we had seen and heard, that there +was a greater extent of good land here, than at South Australia; though +it was more scattered, and farther from the sea. On our way, we met a +party of natives; and seeing a bundle of spears leaning against a tree, I +rode up to examine them, but the owner instantly ran and seized them, in +a manner that confirmed the report I had before heard, to the effect, +that the settlers and the aborigines of this part, either through the +mismanagement of the one, or the evil disposition of the other, are not +on very good terms. + +February 17. + +I went this day to Cape Bridgewater, to make a sketch of the coast, and +visit some caves lying four miles north of it. These we found to be from +forty to fifty feet high, and of the same depth; the ceilings were +encrusted with stalactites and the mouths overlooked some pretty +freshwater lakes, three miles in extent separated from the sea by a +narrow chain of sandhills; upon these were a few swans, and a black and +white kind of goose, one of which Mr. Bynoe shot; it resembled the +species we had seen flying over the Albert in the Gulf of Carpentaria. + +ARRIVE AT HOBART. + +February 20. + +A slight cessation of the easterly wind allowed us to leave Portland Bay +in the morning; but scarcely had we got outside, when it blew strong +again from the same quarter: accordingly, it being highly desirable that +I should consult with His Excellency, Sir John Franklin, before we +commenced the survey of Bass Strait, we proceeded direct to Hobart, where +we arrived on the 26th. The latitude of the south-west cape was +determined on the passage to be 42 degrees 35 minutes South: and a +running survey was made of the south coast of Tasmania. + +Our stay in the Derwent, during which land and seabreezes prevailed, +afforded me an opportunity of comparing our compasses at the magnetic +observatory, established since our last visit by the Antarctic +expedition, and left in charge of Lieutenant Key and Messrs. Dayman and +Scott, officers belonging to it. This place His Excellency, who took part +in the observations made there, named after the leader of the expedition, +Ross Bank Observatory: I found it to be 20 seconds west, and 1 minute 10 +seconds, north of the Beagle's observation spot in Fort Mulgrave. + +Sir John Franklin, who has always taken great interest in the Beagle's +voyage, testified every wish to afford me assistance: and in the most +liberal manner placed at my disposal the colonial cutter, Vansittart, to +assist in the survey of the Strait. Messrs. Forsyth and Pascoe were +selected for the service, the former being in command. After giving the +Vansittart a slight refit, and a few alterations which were expedited in +a most praiseworthy manner by Captain Booth, commandant at Port Arthur, +she was to proceed to the scene of operations near Banks Strait. In the +meantime the Beagle sailed for Sydney to receive the stores we expected +from England. + +ATMOSPHERIC CHANGES. + +March 10. + +This was our second day from the Derwent; but owing to the prevalence of +North-East winds we had not made further progress than to be at noon, +thirty miles east from Cape Pillar. The atmospheric changes during this +day were curious. The morning broke hazy, with a moderate breeze from +North-North-East, which gradually subsiding and veering at the same time +to East-South-East, left us becalmed for three or four hours; thick +impenetrable fogs meanwhile passed at intervals to the South-West; and +whenever this obstruction to our vision was removed, could be seen a dark +heap of clouds collecting, some of which detaching themselves passed +rapidly over our heads. About three P.M. there was the sighing of a +breeze from that quarter. The barometer, also, at this time, ceased +falling and stood at 29.57, being as much as two-tenths lower than what +it was an hour before, and having fallen since eight A.M. four-tenths. + +The rapid depression of the mercury was quite perceptible to the eye. +Under reduced sail the ship, like the petrel with closed wing, waited the +coming blast. A dense fog enveloped us; but an hour after the barometer +had ceased falling, it lifted up and revealed a long sheet of hissing +foam crowning the troubled waters that were rolling, urged by the +tempest, tumultuously towards us from the south-west. + +RETURN TO SYDNEY. + +For a while the heavy reduced canvas still flapped with a lazy swag +against the masts; but suddenly it was filled by a violent gust; and the +Beagle was hurried swiftly onwards, careering over the waves like the +misty spectre in a storm. Two hours after (six P.M.) the barometer had +risen a tenth. We now expected our passage to Sydney to be short: but the +ill luck of foul winds again attending us, it was the fifteenth before we +arrived. + + +CHAPTER 2.13. + +Exploration of Interior. +Twofold Bay. +Survey of Bass Strait. +Dangerous situation of the Beagle. +Kent and Hogan Groups. +Gipps Land. +Wilson's Promontory. +The Tamar. +Eastern entrance of Strait. +Steam communication between India and Australia. +New Guinea. +Straitsmen. +North coast of Tasmania. +Aborigines. +Port Phillip. +Directions for ships passing King Island. +Complete survey of Bass Strait. +Farewell to Sydney. +Moreton Bay. +The Comet. +State of Tasmania, or Van Diemen's Land. +Lighthouses in Bass Strait. + +EXPLORATION OF INTERIOR. + +The most interesting topic of conversation on our arrival at Sydney was +the projected expedition into the interior. Two candidates for this +important and deeply interesting undertaking had presented +themselves--Mr. E.J. Eyre and Sir Thomas Mitchell, both experienced +Australian explorers. The latter proposed to start from Fort Bourke on +the Darling; and the former from Moreton Bay. In my own humble opinion, +strengthened by recent experience, neither of these are practicable +routes;* or at any rate, they are not the best that could be selected. +The centre of the continent must be reached by the shortest possible +journey; it being advisable to avoid the despondency that seizes on a +party during a protracted expedition, and to keep up throughout a certain +degree of excitement. As, therefore, the greatest indentation on the +shores of the continent is the Gulf of Carpentaria, the head of the +Albert River, which discharges its waters into the bottom of it, is +unquestionably the best point of departure that could be selected, being +one-half the distance of Fort Bourke from the centre, and two-thirds +nearer than Moreton Bay. + +(*Footnote. Whilst this sheet was going through the press, the report of +our greatest Australian traveller, Captain Sturt, reached England; +wherein he writes, speaking of his furthest (February 1845) in latitude +28 degrees South and longitude about 141 degrees 22 minutes East having +apparently entered the central desert, as follows: "I could see no change +in the terrible desert to which I had penetrated. The horizon was +unbroken by a single mound, from north round to north again, and it was +as level as that of the ocean. My view to the north extended about eight +miles, but I did not venture to compass that distance, only perhaps to +have overlooked a similar heart-rending and desolate scene." This bears +out the opinion expressed in the text. I do not hesitate, however, in the +face of the interesting evidence brought forward by Captain Sturt, still +to doubt the existence of an inland sea. I think the high temperature he +experienced contradicts such an hypothesis; and I believe the large +expanse of water, reported by the natives, to be the Gulf of Carpentaria, +which bore about north (true) six hundred miles from his position, +Moreton Bay being nearly equidistant on an east bearing, whilst Adelaide +bore South by West 1/2 West about four hundred and thirty miles. + +SUGGESTED ROUTE. + +I have before recommended the use of camels, with skins for carrying +water, in an undertaking of this kind; and I may here add, that they +might be procured in the neighbourhood of the Gulf of Cutch,* which place +the vessel should leave in the North-East monsoon, in time to have the +latter end of the North-West monsoon to take her to the Gulf of +Carpentaria, where at Sweers Island the final arrangements for +disembarking, before alluded to,** could be made. + +(*Footnote. Camels are to be procured in this neighbourhood, when they +are not required for war service, for about five pounds a head. Besides, +the natives of that part are more easily to be obtained as attendants +than Arabs. + +(*Footnote. See above.) + +In a country like Australia, with so varied a surface, it is certainly +impossible to indicate with confidence anything beyond the point of +departure for an exploring party. Their direction must, of course, depend +on the country they find; but I think it may be said from the most +recent, and I much fear melancholy, experience, that the routes from +neither Moreton Bay nor Fort Bourke are practicable. That from the head +of the Albert is, I believe, much superior, and I consider, after mature +deliberation, that the plan I have recommended is at once the most +expeditious and the most economical way of solving a question of daily +increasing interest, and of removing an imputation on English enterprise +which is daily becoming more serious. + +The other routes of exploration which appear to me both practicable and +useful are from Halifax Bay to the Albert,* a distance of above four +hundred miles, and from Limmens Bight to the Victoria, about three +hundred. These will be found marked in the chart accompanying this work. + +(*Footnote. This route I suggested to his Excellency Sir George Gipps, in +March, 1842.) + +TWOFOLD BAY. + +After leaving Sydney we had a succession of south-easterly gales, of +three or four days' duration, and equal in severity to any we had +experienced since leaving England. To avoid one from the westward we put +into Twofold Bay;* a remarkable high-peaked hill, Mount Imlay, lying +behind the head of it, bearing South-West 1/2 West, leads in. + +(*Footnote. This we found to be a very convenient anchorage; and the +constant resort of coasters. From its proximity to the southern parts of +the Manero country, it is likely to become a very thriving place, under +the auspices of Mr. Boyd, who is erecting a town there. This gentleman, I +am happy to say, employs the natives as part of the crew of his yacht; +they are also constantly engaged in the boats of the whaling station, +where their excellent eye renders them extremely useful in seeing and +harpooning the fish; and being particularly well-disposed, they might he +made something of.) + +I was surprised to find by my observations* here that this part of the +coast is laid down ten miles too much to the eastward of Sydney, an error +I subsequently found to be continued to Jervis Bay; so that the course +from thence to Sydney, instead of being, according to the chart, North +1/4 East magnetic is North by East, a fact that should be borne in mind +by masters of vessels, until this part of the coast is properly surveyed. + +(*Footnote. Which placed Point Brierly in latitude 37 degrees 6 minutes +40 seconds South, longitude 1 degree 18 minutes 18 seconds west of +Sydney; or 149 degrees 57 minutes 42 seconds east of Greenwich, according +to what I consider the meridian of Sydney.) + +The error I found in the position of Twofold Bay induced me to commence +our survey there, for the purpose of ascertaining the position of Cape +Howe," which I discovered to be rather more out in longitude; while the +islet, instead of lying off it, lies four miles to the south-west. + +(*Footnote. This Cape, in latitude 38 degrees 31 minutes 00 seconds South +and longitude 1 degree 14 minutes 15 seconds West of Sydney, although +rather low, is of bold approach, and admirably situated for a lighthouse. +Others erected on Montague Island and Point Perpendicular, would light +the whole coast as far as Sydney.) + +FLINDERS ISLAND. + +Leaving, we again spent several days under a close-reefed main-topsail +and a reefed fore-sail; but at length reached an anchorage on the eastern +shore of Flinders Island within the north-east side of a granitic lump +called Babel Islet. The flood tide came from the north-east at this +anchorage, which can only be used in easterly winds. There is a curious +dome on the inner side of Babel, which is connected by a sandy spit with +the large island. Within the eastern point of the latter are the +remarkable pyramidal hills, called the Patriarchs, rising out of a +scrubby plain, much cut up with lagoons, which forms the character of +this side of Flinders. We were enabled to fix the eastern shore of the +island, from Babel Islet and the outer Patriarch, whence the view was +commanding. A range of bare-topped hills lies to the west, whilst to the +south-west, through a mass of clouds, we occasionally caught glimpses of +some high peaks, which I named after my friend Count Strzelecki. A heathy +valley stretches across the island to the westward, through which I saw +the sea on the opposite side; on the northern part the hills are more +rounded and lower. + +TO KENT GROUP. + +From Babel Islet we proceeded towards Kent Group, passing, in 11 or 12 +fathoms, along the eastern shore of Flinders Island, where we discovered +a dangerous sandy spit extending five miles off; from its extreme the +eastern part of the outer Sister bore North 64 degrees West, six miles +and a half. After rounding the latter the wind changed in a violent +squall to the westward, and gave us a long beat of a day to reach Kent +Group, during which we discovered a reef,* just awash at high-water, and +bearing East 8 degrees South, five miles and a half from Wright's Rock.** + +(*Footnote. Beagle's Reef.) + +(**Footnote. A pyramidal lump, three hundred feet high, resembling a +cutter under sail.) + +This, Endeavour Reef, and a sunken rock, about a mile east of Craggy +Island, constitute the chief dangers between Kent Group and Flinders. The +extremes are marked to the north and south by Wright's Rock and Craggy +Island, between which ships should not pass, although there is a channel +close to the south side of the former. It should also be particularly +borne in mind that the tides, which here sometimes run two knots, set +rather across the channel South-West by South and North-East by North. +The north-easterly stream beginning a quarter before noon at the full and +change of the moon. + +DANGEROUS SITUATION + +The Beagle passed half a mile from the north-west side of Wright's Rock, +in 29 fathoms, in the evening; and having spent the night standing +to-and-fro between it and Kent Group, in the morning was abreast of the +opening between the islands called Murray Pass, when we steered towards +it. The weather, for the season, was fine; and the sun, although weak, +shone brightly from a clear wintry sky--it well-nigh happened for the +last time--upon the poor old Beagle! + +The sea, still vexed and chafing from the breeze of yesterday, rolled in +with solemn grandeur on the storm-beaten sides of the islands; each +heaving swell carrying the ship nearer towards the almost fatal opening. +Her motions, however, as if she was conscious of the fate that threatened +her, were sluggish and slow, and she seemed unwillingly to obey the +impulse of the light southerly breeze that aided her progress. Indeed +there appeared to be an opposing tide until we drew in between the high +rocky sides of the channel, when suddenly the ship was hurried onwards +with such rapidity that to prevent our being swept past a cove on the +right it was necessary to close with its outer point, towards which a +merciless eddy flung the ship's head so rapidly, that before the +thrown-aback sails checked her way, her jib-boom was almost over the +rocks.* During the few awful moments that succeeded, a breathless silence +prevailed; and naught was heard but the din of waters that foamed in fury +around, as if impatient to engulf us in their giddy whirl. Still, it must +be confessed, that our hearts sickened within at the thought that our +little bark, after having braved so many storms, and done so much good +service to the state, might be left to whiten a foreign shore with her +timbers. Providence, however, decreed it should be otherwise; and the +next moment the Beagle's head was slowly paying off from the shore. But +her broadside becoming exposed to the swell, she was again driven in +towards the point, and so close, that before the well-trimmed sails gave +her way, as her stern went down with the swell, the assurance that she +must strike, pervaded every shuddering frame. To myself, the sensation +was just as if my feet were under the keel; and I almost expected to feel +the bones crushing. Still we clung to hope, which can find a place even +in the narrowest interval of danger; and our eyes and hearts were lifted +up in supplication to Him who had already so miraculously reprieved us. +Scarcely, however, had the prayer been formed and preferred, when the +peril was past: in the course of an hour we were safely moored in East +Cove, Kent Group. + +(*Footnote. See the view annexed.) + +LIGHTHOUSE HILL. + +In this wild and confined anchorage we were detained by constant westerly +gales for a fortnight, during the whole of which there was only one +really clear day, when I got angles to all the distant points from a hill +near the south-east extreme of the group, nine hundred and ten feet high +and quite precipitous on its seaward face. We named it Lighthouse Hill, +its admirably conspicuous situation suggesting the purpose to which it +might be devoted; the materials for building, moreover, are all at hand. + +DEAL ISLAND. + +The principal islands of Kent Group have been named Deal and Erith; they +occupy a square of four miles, and are separated by Murray Pass, a +channel half a mile wide. Conical granitic hills, in some cases clothed +to their very summits with an impervious scrub, are scattered over them. +On Deal, the eastern isle, there are charred stumps of a few large +eucalypti: but otherwise the trees are small, the largest being a few +casuarinas over the head of East Cove. The valleys on the north side are +rich; and in one leading from Garden Cove we found a quantity of fine +carrots, planted by some sealers; their seed had been carried by the wind +until the whole valley was filled with them; fresh water also is abundant +on that side of Deal Island; and as limestone crops out at the head of +East Cove, a small party of convicts might be kept here and +advantageously employed in erecting the lighthouse and cultivating the +soil. By holding out to them a slight reward, many of the islands in Bass +Strait might be brought under cultivation, and supply grain, potatoes, +etc., for the consumption of the prisoners in Tasmania. This plan of +dispersing the convicts would also be beneficial in producing a change +for the better in themselves; for whilst together they are certainly more +likely to brood mischief. + +ERITH ISLAND. + +Besides East Cove there are others on the north-east and south-east sides +of Deal Island; whilst on Erith there is only one called West Cove, in +the north part of Murray Pass; it is subject to violent gusts that do not +reach East Cove. + +The formation of this group is a little singular, the calcareous +limestone on Deal occurring two hundred feet above the sea and between +granite; whilst on Erith vesicular lava was found. These islands are +connected with Flinders by a sand ridge, on which the depth is 28 and 30 +fathoms; but the islets and rocks between would appear, from the evidence +of upheaval we have just cited, to be elevated portions of a submerged +piece of land about to disclose itself.* + +(*Footnote. The observations on the tides at these islands make the time +of high-water on the full and change of the moon a quarter past eleven, +when it rises eight feet. The stream in Murray Pass, which runs from two +to five knots, changes to the northward twenty minutes after high-water.) + +In a valley behind East Cove there was a stream of water, which strange +to say was quite salt and came from the middle of the island. In the same +neighbourhood I turned loose about a dozen rabbits for the benefit of any +unfortunate voyagers who might be thrown hungry ashore in this locality. +During the few days that we were there they appeared to thrive very well, +and I have no doubt that if not disturbed the island will soon be overrun +with them, there being no wallabies to offer molestation. + +HOGAN GROUP. + +We were not sorry to find ourselves one fine morning turning our backs on +the scene of one of the Beagle's many narrow escapes; so favourable did +the weather continue, that, although in the first week in June, we were +able to pass both the following nights at anchor in the middle of the +strait;* on the first occasion between the Devil's Tower and Curtis's +Island;** and on the second, five miles to the southward of Hogan Group. + +(*Footnote. I gladly seized these opportunities of ascertaining exactly +the set of the tides. At the first anchorage they ran East-North-East and +South-East only from half to a quarter of a knot, the latter beginning +half an hour before low-water at Kent Group; at the second the tide set +North-East by East, one knot, and South-South-West a knot and a half; the +southerly stream began one hour and a half after low-water at Kent Group: +on both occasions there was a light westerly wind. + +(**Footnote. The central position of this island renders it quite a +finger-post for ships passing through the Strait. It has at the south end +a square summit 1060 feet high, in latitude 39 degrees 28 minutes 20 +seconds South, and longitude 4 degrees 33 minutes 45 seconds West of +Sydney; towards the north it slopes away something in the shape of a +shoe, from which it is called by the sealers The Slipper. Two sugarloaf +rocks, each 350 feet high, lie two miles and a half off its southern +end.) + +I landed on the largest island;* which I found to be a mile and a half in +extent, inhabited by a number of dogs left by sealers, that had become +quite wild; in a cave on the south-east point were some fur seals. Two +small islets front a boat-cove on the north-east side, where there is +fresh water; and outside these there is a rock just awash. The summit of +the large island was a most important station; and with Lighthouse Hill +at Kent Group, formed an astronomical base for the survey. + +(*Footnote. The highest point I found to be in latitude 39 degrees 13 +minutes 04 seconds South, and longitude 4 degrees 13 minutes 15 seconds +west of Sydney; and 430 feet high.) + +CORNER INLET. + +From Hogan Group we stood to the northward, and were able to pass another +night at anchor six miles from a low sandy shore, and fourteen to the +eastward of Corner Inlet, which we found on examination had a bar +extending off six miles from the entrance, on which at low tide there is +water for vessels drawing sixteen and eighteen feet. A group of islets, +named from their utility Direction Isles, lies in the fairway, a few +miles outside the bar. + +During the examination of this great useless sheet of water, the ship lay +near a small islet close to the Promontory about seven miles from the +entrance, which, from the abundance of rabbits, we called Rabbit Island;* +I have since learnt that these animals had multiplied from a single pair +turned loose by a praiseworthy sealer six years before; and the sight of +their number did not a little encourage me to expect a similar result +from the gift I had bestowed on Kent Group. + +(*Footnote. The outer extreme of this island, in one with Cape +Wellington, forms a leading mark into Corner Inlet, but vessels should +get them on within a mile of the island. These marks are of use until the +eastern and highest of the Direction Isles opens out just clear of the +others, when by keeping it in that position, or steering for the middle +of the entrance, a ship may be taken safely in. The tide rises eight feet +at springs, when the time of high-water is twenty minutes before noon.) + +GIPPS' LAND. + +From the highest hill on the south-eastern point I had obtained a most +excellent view of Corner Inlet, which bore a great resemblance to a +basin. I have before called it useless, from its being only navigable a +mile or two within the entrance and that chiefly on the northern side, +the rest being occupied by mud flats. It was a bitter cold day; but +between the sleet squalls I was able to trace the coast westward as far +as Cape Liptrap over the low neck connecting Wilson's Promontory with the +main, and forming the south-western shore of Corner Basin; and eastward +beyond Shallow Inlet,* where the Clonmel steamer was lost. About six +miles to the north-east the masts of some vessels pointed out the +approach to Alberton. The intervening space was filled with islands and +mud banks; which character the shore appeared to retain further eastward, +being fronted by a margin of low sandy land, sometimes broken by the +pressure of the sea from without or of the waters from within, when the +streams that add to the fertility of Gipps' Land are swollen by the +melting of the snows on the Australian Alps. + +(*Footnote. Vessels bound to Alberton, the capital of Gipps' Land, +generally pass through this inlet, but as the water is shallow, and +breaks across the entrance, if there is any swell, it is more prudent to +enter by Corner Inlet, and take the second opening on the right within +the entrance.) + +STRZELECKI. + +To commemorate my friend Count Strzelecki's discovery of this important +and valuable district, which he named in honour of His Excellency the +Governor, I called the summit of a woody range 2110 feet high, over the +north shore of Corner Inlet, Mount Fatigue.* The only vegetation this +part of the promontory supports is a wiry grass, stunted gums and +banksias in the valleys, and a few grass-trees near the crests of the +hills which are generally bare masses of granite. Behind a sandy beach on +the east side beneath where I stood were sinuous lines of low sandhills, +remarkable for their regularity, resembling the waves that rolled in on +the shore. + +(*Footnote. It was in the rear of this range that Count Strzelecki and +his companions, on their way to Western Port, experienced the sufferings +related in the Port Phillip Herald, June 1840, from which I extract the +following: "The party was now in a most deplorable condition. Messrs. +MacArthur and Riley and their attendants had become so exhausted as to be +unable to cope with the difficulties which beset their progress. The +Count, being more inured to the fatigues and privations attendant upon a +pedestrian journey through the wilds of our inhospitable interior, alone +retained possession of his strength, and although burdened with a load of +instruments and papers of forty-five pounds weight, continued to pioneer +his exhausted companions day after day through an almost impervious +tea-tree scrub, closely interwoven with climbing grasses, vines, willows, +fern and reeds. Here the Count was to be seen breaking a passage with his +hands and knees through the centre of the scrub; there throwing himself +at full length among the dense underwood, and thus opening by the weight +of his body a pathway for his companions in distress. Thus the party inch +by inch forced their way; the incessant rains preventing them from taking +rest by night or day. Their provisions, during the last eighteen days of +their journey, consisted of a very scanty supply of the flesh of the +native bear or monkey, but for which, the only game the country afforded, +the travellers must have perished from utter starvation...On the +twenty-second day after they had abandoned their horses, the travellers +came in sight of Western Port.") + +SEALER'S COVE. + +Water and fuel are abundant on the point abreast of Rabbit Island. +Southward from this projection a sandy beach extends five miles, with a +rivulet at either end, and separated from a small deep bay* open to the +east, by a remarkable bluff, the abrupt termination of a high-woody +ridge. The trees on the south-west side were large and measured eight +feet in diameter. In the humid shelter they afforded the tree and a +variety of other kinds of fern were growing in great luxuriance, with a +profusion of creepers matted together in a dense mass of rich foliage. +From thence southwards the shore is rocky and the water deep. + +(*Footnote. This bay is evidently Sealer's Cove in the old charts; but +this part of the Strait is so much in error that it is hardly possible to +recognize any particular point.) + +REFUGE COVE. + +Refuge Cove, lying seven miles South 1/4 West from Rabbit Island, was our +next anchorage. It was so named from its being the only place a vessel +can find shelter in from the eastward on this side of the Promontory. Of +this we ourselves felt the benefit; for although in the middle of June +east winds prevailed the first few days we stayed there, with thick hazy +weather, whilst at Rabbit Island we had constant westerly gales with a +great deal of hail and sleet. This small cove, being only a cable wide at +the entrance may be recognized by Kersop Peak, which rises over the south +part, and from its lying between Cape Wellington and Horn Point,* and +also from its being the first sandy beach that opens north of the former. + +(*Footnote. This projection has two pointed hummocks on it resembling +horns.) + +Such of us as had been in Tierra del Fuego were particularly struck with +the resemblance of the scenery in Refuge Cove; the smooth quiet sand +beaches, and dense forests reaching the water's edge, the mist-capped +hills, and the gusts that swept down the valleys and roared through the +rigging, forcibly recalled to our recollection that region of storms. + +We found a whaling establishment in the south-east corner,* and the +houses for the boats and their crews formed quite a little village. The +person in charge, with one or two others, remains during the summer. +These people had a novel safeguard against the attacks of the natives: a +horrible looking figure, dressed so as to represent the evil spirit, of +which the Australian aborigines are so much afraid, was placed in a +conspicuous place; but whether it would have had the desired effect was +not proved, as the natives had never been seen in those parts. There can, +indeed, be little to tempt them to wander thither; for there are neither +kangaroos nor wallabies, and but few birds. Among the most curious of +those belonging to the land, is a kind of finch, with a black head, +yellow beak, a dark brown back, and dirty white belly; across the wings +and arching over the back, at the stump of the tail, was a stripe of +white. + +(*Footnote. Our observations made this spot in latitude 39 degrees 02 +minutes 30 seconds South, and longitude 4 degrees 44 minutes 45 seconds +West of Sydney. High-water on the full and change of the moon, takes +place at 12 hours 5 minutes when the tide rises eight feet; a mile in the +offing the northern and ebb stream, which runs from one to two knots, +begins at 11 hours 40 minutes. Past the south end of the promontory the +same stream sweeps round from the westward, sometimes at the rate of two +knots and a half.) + +WATERLOO BAY. + +Cape Wellington, the eastern projection of the Promontory, forms the +north point of Waterloo Bay, which is wide and spacious. These names were +suggested by the fact that the day of our anchoring there was the +anniversary of one of the greatest triumphs ever achieved by British +arms. At the head of the bay, lies the low valley, three miles in length, +which stretches across the promontory and forms a very conspicuous break +in the high land. On the northern side of it, the highest hill, Mount +Wilson, rises abruptly until its woody crest reaches an elevation of 2350 +feet. On the southern, was a ridge strewn over with immense boulders of +granite, one, near where I stood, measuring eighty feet in height, and +resting with such apparent insecurity, that little seemed required to +send it rolling and crashing into the valley below, along which a rivulet +winds, and falls into the sea at the north end of a sandy beach, forming +the head of Waterloo Bay. The depth in the middle of the latter is 12 +fathoms, muddy bottom; it lies four miles from the south end of the +Promontory, and there is no good anchorage between. + +SAIL FOR PORT DALRYMPLE. + +From a small flattened sugarloaf, forming the summit of Cape Wellington, +I got an angle to the Crocodile Rock,* and with others from the +south-west end of the Promontory, and from the ship on passing, I +determined the position of this danger most satisfactorily. + +(*Footnote. This rock, in latitude 39 degrees 21 minutes 30 seconds +South, and longitude 4 degrees 41 minutes 45 seconds West of Sydney, lies +in a line midway between the western extremities of Curtis and Rodondo +Islands, nearly nine miles from each. It is a smooth round-topped granite +boulder, just protruding above the surface; and in fine weather the sea +runs over it without breaking. The depth being 43 fathoms close to it, if +the waters of the Strait were drawn off the shape of it would be that of +a column nearly 260 feet high.) + +As we had not, as I expected, met the Vansittart, I was anxious to learn +something of her, and crossing over to the south side of the Strait, for +the purpose, entered Port Dalrymple, where I found that Mr. Forsyth and +his party had preceded our arrival by a day or two. The Vansittart's +employment had been the examination of the north-east extreme of +Tasmania, some portions of which were found to be nine miles out in +latitude; the greater part was fronted with kelp and rocky patches. The +work, also, included a portion of Banks' Strait, and the southern part of +the western side of Flinders Island, among the islets fronting which were +discovered several good anchorages: the best in westerly winds being +under Goose or Western Chappell Island, where a lighthouse was in course +of construction. + +YORK TOWN. + +His Excellency, Sir John Franklin, requesting that I would send the +Vansittart round to Macquarie Harbour, on the west coast, after a party +of runaway convicts, we were for a time deprived of her services. As the +rise of the tide in the Tamar was sufficient for laying the ship ashore, +I took the opportunity of doing so on the west bank, just above Garden +Island, to examine her bottom, and found it so defective that 130 sheets +of copper were required to make good the damage; in some places the +two-inch sheathing was completely destroyed. The original settlement, +York Town, was at the head of a shoal bight just above us; I found it +almost quite in ruins, though there were one or two of the original +settlers there; the chief part of the inhabitants were a lawless set, who +were said to live, chiefly, by plunder. + +LAUNCESTON. + +Whilst the ship underwent these repairs, the triangulation was extended +to Launceston,* at the head of the Tamar, thirty miles from the sea. +Large vessels are prevented from approaching close to the town by a bar. +The greatest difficulty found in navigating the river is Whirlpool Reach; +near the middle of this lies a rock, an attempt to remove which, by +blasting, was made; the top was blown off, so that now vessels are liable +to be carried upon it, whereas, before, when it broke the surface, such +was not the case. + +(*Footnote. The latitude of the Port office I found to be 41 degrees 26 +minutes 5 seconds South longitude 4 degrees 42 minutes 24 seconds West of +Sydney. High water 3 hours 35 minutes; springs rise 12 feet. During the +winter, after rains, the stream sets down for days together at the rate +of from one to three knots.) + +The valley, through which the Tamar winds, is narrow, with sides +generally steep and densely wooded; in some places, the reaches are wide, +and the hills recede; on their lower slopes, near Launceston, are +situated many pretty villas, peeping through garden shrubberies; whilst +further down are the straggling habitations of the more recent settlers, +surrounded by clear patches, with difficulty won from the forest by the +axe and the firebrand. On the whole, therefore, it may be said that art +and nature combine to render beautiful the scenery on the banks of this +important stream. + +The first view of Launceston, the second town in Tasmania, is very +pretty. The valley of the river expands as you approach, and over a low +tract of land on the east bank, the straggling mass of buildings forming +the town is descried. Though very healthy it lies on a kind of flat, +backed with open woodland undulations at the junction of the North and +South Esks; and, during the winter, is subject to fogs so dense that many +persons well acquainted with the town frequently lose themselves. Where +the streams unite, they become the Tamar, one of the principal rivers in +Tasmania. At the distance of half a mile from the confluence, the North +Esk makes a by no means insignificant waterfall. This forms one of the +first sights to which strangers arriving at Launceston are conducted, by +a path which, winding along the face of a precipice, suddenly brings the +cataract in sight, tumbling and roaring over the rocks into the pool, +which seethes like a cauldron below, and sends up a steaming mist into +the air. From the waters of the South Esk, the country around Launceston +derives its fertility; and perhaps there is no part of our southern +colonies that more resembles England. The number of gentlemen's seats, +before alluded to, thickly scattered over an undulating country cleared +of all timber, save a few monumental trees, and well cultivated, strongly +suggested thoughts of home. + +GEORGE TOWN. + +When the weather permitted, the boats were employed in continuing the +survey of Port Dalrymple. Observations were made at the flagstaff in +George Town,* which we found to be in latitude 41 degrees 6 minutes 20 +seconds South and longitude 4 degrees 23 minutes 44 seconds West of +Sydney; variation 9 3/4 East. This place is only a straggling village, +situated on the east bank, about three miles and a half from the mouth of +the Tamar, upon a flat, forming the north side of a snug cove at the +western foot of a group of conical hills; on one of them is a signal +station, by means of which, with another intervening, communication is +kept up with Launceston. + +(*Footnote. The geological formation in the neighbourhood of this place +will be found in Volume 1.) + +CRAGGY ISLAND. + +The entire month of July was occupied by the repairs of the ship, and the +surveying operations; when we sailed from the Tamar and examined the +passage at the eastern entrance of the strait, between Craggy Island and +Flinders, which we found perfectly free from danger--a fact of great +importance, as it had, hitherto, been reported full of sunken rocks. The +Beagle passed a mile and a half from the south side of Craggy Island in +25 and 28 fathoms. This passage has a depth of 26 and 27 fathoms, and is +six miles wide, whilst between Wright's Rock and Kent Group the width is +nearly eleven miles. There appears, by the ripplings, to be foul ground +between Craggy Island and Endeavour Reef, and the space intervening has, +accordingly, been marked as one shoal in the chart. + +THE BEAGLE ORDERED HOME. + +Leaving the eastern entrance of the strait, we ran up to Sydney, for the +supplies that had not arrived from England on our last visit; we now +found them waiting for us, together with orders for the Beagle to return +to England. Fortunately, however, the survey of Bass Strait was in such a +forward state, thanks to Sir John Franklin's kind assistance in lending +the Vansittart, that I could take upon myself the responsibility of +waiting a few months to complete it.* I was, however, compelled by the +brief interval of time allowed me, and the urgent demand that existed for +a correct chart of the whole strait, to work on a smaller scale than I +could have wished. It seemed to me that detached portions on a very large +scale would be of far inferior utility to a complete survey on a +comparatively small one. + +(*Footnote. This step was approved of by the Commander in chief.) + +It was not, however, my being prevented from completing Bass Strait in +the manner most satisfactory to myself that occasioned the greatest part +of the regret that accompanied this summons for the old Beagle to wend +her way homewards; for we were thus also deprived of the opportunity of +gratifying our desire to explore the southern parts of New Guinea, which +we had always looked forward to as one of the most interesting parts of +our voyage, containing elements of excitement sufficient to cheer the +hearts that were yearning for home, and a character of novelty that would +have amply compensated for whatever fatigue and exertion we might have +experienced. On many occasions, during the heavy and monotonous part of +our labours, the anticipated delights of discovery refreshed our +imaginations and elevated our spirits, imparting to our most irksome +occupations an interest that did not belong to them, but was borrowed +from those hoped-for scenes of adventure on the unvisited shores of New +Guinea to which we believed that each dull day's hard work brought us +nearer. But it was not destined to be our lot to add any more new lands +to the geography of this part of the world; and H.M.S. Fly and Bramble +had been commissioned at home for surveying service in Australasia. This +expedition, under the command of Captain F.P. Blackwood, arrived at +Sydney on the 10th of October, whilst we were there, and sailed soon +after our departure, to commence tracing the outer Barrier Reefs, a +service attended with no ordinary risk, but which has been happily +completed, and a beacon erected to show vessels the best entrance, +without a mishap. + +Since the early part of this work was written this valuable addition to +the survey of New Holland has induced an enterprising master of a +merchant vessel to try the eastward passage through Torres Strait. As a +proof of the practicability of this route I may state, that the above +vessel passed through Torres Strait in January, went to Sydney, and +returned for another cargo to Ballytown, in Allas Strait, by the May +following. This passage, an account of which has been published in the +Nautical Magazine, was made through the Barrier Reef by Captain +Blackwood's Beacon on Raines Islet; but as this is out of the limits of +the westerly monsoon, a better passage, doubtless, would have been +effected by following a more northerly route, as recommended by Captain +Blackwood.* + +(*Footnote. See Nautical Magazine for December 1845.) + +STEAM COMMUNICATION BETWEEN INDIA AND AUSTRALIA. + +With reference, however, to the anticipated steam communication* between +India and Australia, which will bring Sydney within nearly sixty days of +England, I think with Captain Blackwood that steamers should at all times +use Captain King's inner route;** and much of the delay occasioned by +anchoring at night would be obviated by cautiously approaching, at +reduced speed, the reefs, the position of which might be distinguished by +means of a powerful light at the vessel's head or bowsprit end; when a +course might be shaped for the next and so on. As the smooth water within +the shelter of the Great Barrier Reefs affords facilities for steering +with great nicety, a steamer, with care, might effect a saving of fuel as +well as time by passing through Torres Strait without anchoring. + +(*Footnote. Steam communication between Sydney and Singapore would +require three vessels of six hundred tons, one of which should leave +Sydney and Singapore on the 1st of each month. Their engines should be of +200 horse-power, and furnished with tubular boilers, which consume a +fifth less fuel than the others; they must carry at the least 200 tons, +which, at the rate of 14 tons per diem, is sufficient for fourteen days +fullspeed steaming, in which time, at the rate of 7 knots an hour, 2,352 +miles will have been traversed, which is about 100 miles more than the +distance between Sydney and Port Essington, and about 420 miles more than +between the latter place and Singapore. This clearly shows that Port +Essington is, as I have before stated, the best place for a coal-depot; +and that one there would suffice for the whole line of communication. As, +moreover, it is necessary that such a station should have protection +against the natives, it further enhances the value of the settlement at +Port Essington. This depot might be economically made, from the cheapness +and abundance of coals in New South Wales; and the number of ships that +are constantly passing Port Essington in ballast would be glad of the +freight so far. The cost of steam vessels of the size mentioned would be +about 20,000 pounds, if built of wood, and 16,000 pounds, if of iron; and +the annual expense of running one would be between 3,000 and 4000 +pounds.) + +(**Footnote. On this inshore track steamers would be able to replace with +wood any deficiency in their fuel. I take this opportunity of saying that +vessels carrying troops from Sydney to India should be compelled to use +it, the chances of the loss of life being much less. On one occasion a +ship called the Ferguson sailed from Sydney with part of a regiment, +whilst we were there. The master ridiculed the advice given him by one of +the Beagle's officers, to take the inner passage. The next news we heard +of her was, that she had been wrecked on the outer Barrier at four in the +morning; no observation having been taken since the previous noon, by +which they might have found a current drifting them to the northward. +Fortunately, another ship was in company, and saved the loss of life, but +that of property was great. The fact that the lives of so many souls +should be placed at the mercy of careless masters of ships, who run such +risks, in spite of the warnings of experience, deserves the serious +attention of Government.) + +NEW GUINEA. + +The part of New Guinea above alluded to, which had often afforded us the +materials of interesting speculation, also formed part of the survey of +Captain Blackwood, who writes as follows: "On the coast of New Guinea we +found a delta of fine rivers, and a numerous population, all indicating a +rich and fruitful country. It is true that we found the inhabitants very +hostile; but it must be considered that we were the first Europeans that +they had ever seen; and I have no doubt that, on a further acquaintance, +and convinced of our power, they might be easily conciliated. Their +houses, arms, and cultivation, all indicate a considerable degree of +civilization, and no small intelligence in the construction of their +canoes; and I think it probable that a trade might be opened with this +hitherto perfectly unknown people and country."* The people inhabiting +the islands fronting the coast, Captain Blackwood found to be highly +inclined to trade, readily bartering a valuable species of tortoise-shell +for European articles of hardware. + +(*Footnote. See Nautical Magazine for December 1845.) + +H.M.S. FAVOURITE. + +During our stay at Sydney we also met H.M.S. Favourite, Captain T.R. +Sullivan, just returned from visiting the Eastern Polynesian Isles, +having succeeded in rescuing the guns that were lost from the ship in a +melancholy and much to be lamented affray with the natives of Tongataboo, +previous to the command of Captain Sullivan, whose adventure in this +affair was very interesting, and cleverly managed. + +HURRICANE. + +The Favourite had experienced a hurricane* off Mangaia Island, the +natives of which gave notice of its approach; and at Tahiti Captain +Sullivan was also told that he might expect a hurricane before long. From +this, and the experience of other navigators, it appears that rotatory +gales are prevalent in the Pacific as well as in the Indian Ocean. + +(*Footnote. Although this hurricane has been noticed, and the Favourite's +Log published in the Nautical Magazine, I think it will be useful to +continue the practice of entering into some detail respecting every +hurricane that came under my observation. This storm, it appears, was +encountered off Mangaia, one of the Harvey Isles, lying about midway +between the Society and Hapai Groups. The Favourite was in latitude 21 +degrees 58 minutes South, longitude 158 degrees 02 minutes West, five +miles South-West by West from Mangaia, at noon on the 17th December, +1842, steering West by South 1/2 South before a moderate gale from +East-North-East, with cloudy rainy weather. At 3 P.M. she had gone 27 +miles, when the wind, which had increased to a strong gale, veering to +North-East, the course before it was now South-West; but at the end of +another hour, having run eight miles, the wind increased to a storm, and +veering again to the eastward, the ship was brought to the wind on the +port tack under a main trysail. For the hours 5 and 6, she headed from +South to South-West, which would give for the direction of the wind about +South-East by East. At 6.30 a man was washed away with the lee +quarter-boat. At 8, the wind had veered to South by West, having blown a +hurricane, with constant rain for the last hour; at 9 most of the +half-ports were washed away, the sea making a clean sweep over the decks. +By midnight the wind had subsided to a whole gale; but still veering had +reached the West-South-West point, and at 3 the next morning it was +blowing only a moderate breeze from West-North-West, with tolerably clear +weather. Sail was now made, and a South-West by South course held for 28 +miles, when by the noon observation the latitude was 22 degrees 1 minute +South, longitude, by chronometer, 158 degrees 44 minutes West. The day +following the hurricane the wind was moderate from the westward; and on +that previous to it of about the same strength from the northward. The +ship's position at noon of the latter day was about 130 miles to the +North-East by East of Mangaia Island. The duration of this storm, then, +may be considered to have been from 4 P.M. to midnight, in which eight +hours the wind had veered gradually from East round by South to +West-South-West. The veering being much more rapid between 8 and 9 P.M. +when the storm was at its height, the ship must at that time, have been +nearer the focus. The tack on which the Favourite was hove to carried her +into the course of the hurricane, or rather placed her in a position to +be overtaken by it, as it passed along to the southward and westward; but +as the ship broke off to the westward and northward, she fell out of its +north-western edge. Doubtless, if a West-North-West course had been +pursued in the first instance, or at noon on the 17th, the Favourite +would have avoided the storm. It is to be regretted that the barometer +was broken in the commencement of the hurricane, when it was unusually +low, having been falling for some time before. Besides this, there was +ample warning in the unusually gloomy lurid appearance of the sky; the +weather also was misty, with showers of rain as the ship approached the +course of the storm.) + +BANKS STRAIT. + +Leaving Sydney, we resumed our work to the southward; and towards the end +of October anchored under Swan Island, lying midway on the south side of +Banks Strait, which trends West by North, with a width of twelve miles, a +length of seventeen, and a depth of from 16 to 25 fathoms; it is formed +by the north-east point of Tasmania and the islands lying to the south of +Flinders. Barren Island, one of the latter, has a remarkable peak at its +south-eastern end, and some high rounded hills on the north-western; it +is twenty-two miles in extent, lying in an east and west direction. It is +separated from Flinders by a channel, which I named after Sir John +Franklin, four miles wide, thickly strewed with islands and shoals. The +eastern entrance is almost blocked up by sandbanks, extending off five +miles and a half from a large island (called by us after the Vansittart, +but known to the sealers by the name of Gun-carriage Island) and leaving +only a narrow, shifting passage of 2 and 4 fathoms between their northern +side and Flinders Island. The anchorages which lie in the western part of +Franklin Channel are not so sheltered as those between Barren and Clarke +Islands. The latter has two rounded summits, the highest 690 feet, +resembling a saddle, either from west or east. The rugged peaks of +Strzelecki, reaching an elevation of 2,550 feet, rise immediately over +the northern point of the west entrance of Franklin Channel. + +BLACK REEF. + +The north-east extreme of Tasmania is singularly low, with a coastline of +sandhills. Out of this level tract rise Mounts William and Cameron; the +latter, 1,730 feet high, is the highest of a group of peaks, cresting a +ridge, whilst the former is a solitary pyramidal hill, 730 feet high, +used as a guide for craft in working through the strait. When it bears +South by West, vessels may close with the south shore, being then past +the Black Reef,* and the rocks that lie off the coast to the eastward, as +far as Eddystone Point. The most outlying and remarkable are the St. +George's Rocks, a cluster of grey granite boulders, 66 feet high; a patch +of moored kelp, however, on which the water sometimes breaks, lies three +miles East-South-East from the Black Reef. The principal danger on the +northern side of the eastern entrance of the strait is Moriarty Bank, +which extends off four miles and a half east from the south-east point of +Clarke Island; there is, however, a narrow passage of 16 fathoms close to +the latter. This Bank, which has a couple of rocks near its north-eastern +part, is steep to, and may be avoided by keeping the south point of +Clarke Island, to bear to the southward of West 12 degrees North. Mount +William, also, bearing South 7 degrees West clears the outer end of it. + +(*Footnote. This reef is a low, dark, rocky islet, with reefs extending +off North 45 degrees West three quarters of a mile, and South 56 degrees +East, one mile. There is a passage of 7 fathoms, a mile wide, between it +and the main, through which the highest St. George's Rock, bearing South +52 degrees East, leads. Black Reef bears from the latter North 45 degrees +West, six miles and a half, and from the summit of Swan Island, South 53 +degrees East, eight miles and three-quarters. Mount William, also, bears +from it South 22 degrees West.) + +I may here mention, that the importance of Banks Strait is great, as all +the trade between Hobart, Launceston, and Port Phillip, passes through +it. + +SWAN ISLAND. + +Swan Island is a narrow hummocky strip of land, a mile and a half long, +trending South-West by West; the loftiest part, 90 feet high, near the +north end,* was selected by Sir John Franklin for the site of a +lighthouse, the foundation of which he laid, after resigning the reins of +government; it was the last benefit he was able to confer on the colony. + +(*Footnote. In latitude 40 degrees 43 minutes 36 seconds South, longitude +3 degrees 5 minutes 50 seconds West of Sydney, and 148 degrees 10 minutes +10 seconds East of Greenwich; variation, 10 east.) + +A well of indifferent water was found near the north-west end of the +island; and some sealers had recently turned loose a couple of pigs, to +which I added a third. + +Two small islets lie one mile and a half West-North-West from Swan +Island, and a dangerous patch of rocks, one and a quarter North-West by +West from the summit; they are all connected with the large island by +shoal water. + +TIDES. + +We found the best anchorage to be a quarter of a mile off the south point +of a sandy bay, near the outer end of the island. During the time we lay +here for the purpose of obtaining a series of tidal observations,* and +verifying a few of the principal points of Messrs. Forsyth and Pasco's +survey, constant strong westerly gales prevailed; and from all the local +information obtained it appeared that such was generally the case. + +(*Footnote. The result of these observations makes the time of high-water +at the full and change of the moon 9 hours 36 minutes when the rise of +the tide is six feet and three at neaps. The flood-stream comes from the +eastward; and both it and the ebb is of 6 hours 15 minutes duration at +springs; but during neaps the flood runs 7 hours 0 minutes and the ebb 5 +hours 30 minutes. The interval of slack-water never exceeded a quarter of +an hour, and the western stream begins 0 hours 30 minutes after low-water +at springs, and 0 hours 50 minutes after it at neaps; whilst the eastern +begins 0 hours 40 minutes after high-water at springs, and 0 hours 10 +minutes before it at neaps. The velocity of the stream was from one to +three knots, the strongest being the ebb, which at springs and with a +strong westerly breeze attains a strength in the middle of the strait of +nearly four knots, and causes, when opposed to the wind, a high-topping +sea, dangerous for small craft. + +Whilst in other respects the tides are the same, the time of high-water +at Preservation Island, though only at the northern side of the strait, +is 1 hour 15 minutes later than at Swan Island. This great difference is +caused by the influence of the flood-stream out of Franklin Channel and +from the northward along the west side of Flinders Island. The +flood-streams setting to the westward through Banks Strait, and to the +south-westward past the north-west end of Flinders, meet about ten miles +to the westward of the Chappell Isles, when their united stream curves +round by south to west, becoming gradually weaker, and soon after passing +the mouth of the Tamar ceasing to be felt at all, leaving in the middle +of Bass Strait a large space free from tidal influence as far as the +production of progressive motion is concerned, that given to it from the +entrances being neutralized by their mutual opposition. There is, +however, an easterly current of nearly a knot an hour, in strong westerly +winds. The meeting of the tides on the west side of Flinders also leaves +a space, close to the shore near the centre, free from any stream. At the +eastern entrance of Franklin Channel there is also a meeting of the +flood-streams, one coming from North-North-East and the other from +South-East.) + +Whilst at this anchorage two boats belonging to the whaling station on +Wilson's Promontory passed on their way to Hobart, which they reached in +safety. They made the passage, hazardous for boats, across the strait by +touching at Hogan and Kent Groups and so over to Flinders Island. + +CAPE PORTLAND. + +Leaving, we beat through between Swan Islands and the main, which we +found to be a good channel,* a mile and a half wide, with an average +depth of ten fathoms. After passing the western islet the south side of +the strait should be given a wide berth, particularly on approaching Cape +Portland, off which some islets with foul ground and a sunken rock at +their extreme, extend two miles and a half. The summit of Swan Island, +bears South 75 degrees East and Mount Cameron South 2 degrees East from +the outer edge of this danger; which masters of vessels should remember, +both in reaching to the southward in the strait, and in running for it +from the westward. + +(*Footnote. Mount William bearing South 40 degrees East leads into the +western entrance.) + +PRESERVATION ISLAND. + +Crossing Banks Strait we anchored under Preservation Island, lying +between the western extreme of Clarke and Barren Islands; it owes its +name to the preservation of the crew of a ship run ashore upon it in a +sinking state. The value of the shelter this anchorage affords is in some +measure destroyed by the presence of a sandbank extending off three miles +from the eastern side of Preservation Island. Two small rocky islets lie +a mile and a half off the western side of the latter, and several ugly +rocks are scattered along the face of Barren Island, and as far as +Chappell Group; on the outer isle of this group, which is low and level, +the lighthouse bearing North 60 degrees West fifteen miles and a half +forms a very conspicuous object, and is visible to the eye in clear +weather from the top of Preservation Island. Over the northern point of +the latter, towers the summit of Barren Island, forming a sort of double +mount 2300 feet high. + +STRAITSMEN. + +I found Preservation Island inhabited by an old sealer of the name of +James Monro, generally known as the King of the Eastern Straitsmen. +Another man and three or four native women completed the settlement, if +such a term may be applied. They lived in a few rude huts on a bleak +flat, with scarce a tree near, but sheltered from the west by some low +granite hills; a number of dogs, goats and fowls constituted their +livestock. In this desolate place Monro had been for upwards of +twenty-three years; and many others have lived in similar situations an +equally long period. It is astonishing what a charm such a wild mode of +existence possesses for these men, whom no consideration could induce to +abandon their free, though laborious and somewhat lawless state. + +The term sealers is no longer so appropriate as it was formerly; none of +them confining themselves to sealing, in consequence of the increasing +scarcity of the object of their original pursuit. Straitsmen is the name +by which those who inhabit the eastern and western entrance of Bass +Strait are known; they class themselves into Eastern and Western +Straitsmen, and give the following account of their origin: Between the +years 1800 and 1805, the islands in Bass Strait and those fronting the +south coast of Australia, as far westward as the Gulfs of St. Vincent and +Spencer were frequented by sealing vessels from the old and the new +country, if I may use this expression for England and Australia. Many of +their crews became so attached to the islands they were in the habit of +visiting, that when their vessels were about to leave the neighbourhood, +they preferred to remain, taking with them a boat and other stores as +payment for their work. There can be no doubt, however, that their +numbers were afterwards recruited by runaway convicts. + +NATIVE WIVES. + +On one island reside seldom more than two families. The latter word will +at once satisfy the reader that these people were not deprived of the +pleasures of female companionship: man was never born to be satisfied +with his own society; and the Straitsmen of course found beauties +suitable to their taste in the natives of the shores* of Bass Strait. It +appears that a party of them were sealing St. George's Rocks when a tribe +came down on the main opposite and made a signal for them to approach. +They went, taking with them the carcasses of two or three seals, for +which the natives gave as many women. These, perhaps, were glad of the +change, as the aborigines of Tasmania often treat them shamefully. The +sealers took their new-bought sweethearts to an island in Banks Strait, +and there left them to go on another sealing excursion. Returning one +day, they were surprised to find their huts well supplied with wallaby by +the native women. Interest cemented a love that might otherwise have been +but temporary. Visions of fortunes accumulated by the sale of wallaby +skins flashed across the minds of the sealers; who, however, to their +credit be it spoken, generally treated their savage spouses with anything +but unkindness; though in some instances the contrary was the case. It +must be confessed, at the same time, that having once discovered the +utility of the native women, they did not confine themselves to obtaining +them by the lawful way of barter; making excursions, principally to the +shores of Australia, for the express purpose of obtaining by violence or +stealth such valuable partners. + +(*Footnote. The islands were never inhabited by the aborigines until the +remnant of the original population of Tasmania was sent by government to +Flinders.) + +HALF-CASTE CHILDREN. + +Thus commenced a population likely to be of great service to shipping, +particularly as they make excellent sailors, and excel as headsmen in +whalers, where the keenness of their half-savage eyes, and their +dexterity in throwing the spear, render them most formidable harpooners. +The young half-castes I saw were very interesting, having a ruddy dark +complexion, with fine eyes and teeth. On Preservation, and the islands in +the neighbourhood, there were twenty-five children; among whom were some +fine-looking boys. Had the survey just been commenced I should have taken +one of them in the Beagle. Their fathers, I am happy to say, give them +all the instruction in their power: many can read the Bible, and a few +write. + +The common native belief in the transmigration of souls did not extend, I +was glad to find, beyond the mothers, whom nothing could induce to think +otherwise. When we were at Preservation Island, there was a young woman +on her way, in company with her father, to Port Dalrymple, to be married +to a European; and I afterwards learned from the clergyman there, that he +had not for some time seen a young person who appeared to be so well +aware of the solemn vow she was making. + +MUTTON BIRDS. + +The principal trade of the Straitsmen is in the feathers of mutton birds +(Sooty Petrels) which annually visit the islands, between the 15th and +20th of November, for the purposes of incubation. Each bird lays only two +eggs, about the size of that of a goose, and almost as good in flavour. +The male sits by day and the female by night, each going to sea in turn +to feed. As soon as the young take wing they leave the islands. Their +nests are two or three feet underground, and so close that it is scarcely +possible to walk without falling. The collection of the eggs and birds, +which is the business of the women, is frequently attended with great +risk, as venomous snakes are often found in the holes. When the sealers +wish to catch them in large quantities they build a hedge a little above +the beach, sometimes half a mile in length. Towards daylight, when the +birds are about to put to sea, the men station themselves at the +extremities, and their prey, not being able to take flight off the +ground, run down towards the water until obstructed by the hedge, when +they are driven towards the centre, where a hole about five feet deep is +prepared to receive them; in this they effectually smother each other. +The birds are then plucked and their carcasses generally thrown in a heap +to waste, whilst the feathers are pressed in bags and taken to Launceston +for sale.* The feathers of twenty birds weigh one pound; and the cargoes +of two boats I saw, consisted of thirty bags, each weighing nearly thirty +pounds--the spoil of eighteen thousand birds! I may add, that unless +great pains are taken in curing, the smell will always prevent a bed made +of them from being mistaken for one composed of the Orkney goose +feathers. Some of the birds are preserved by smoking, and form the +principal food of the Straitsmen, resembling mutton, according to their +taste, though none of us could perceive the similarity. + +(*Footnote. They now fetch 3 pence a pound; formerly the price was 1 +shilling.) + +PRODUCE OF ISLANDS. + +The habitations of these people are generally slab and plaster, of very +rude and uninviting exterior, but tolerably clean and comfortable within. +They generally take what they may have for the market to Launceston twice +in the year, lay in stores for the next six months, and return home, +never, I believe, bringing back any spirits, so that while on the +islands, they lead, from necessity, a temperate life. + +It is sometimes in the power of these men to be of infinite service to +vessels who are strangers in the strait, when driven into difficulties by +westerly gales. Portions of the islands on which they reside are brought +into cultivation; but at Gun Carriage they complain of their crops having +been very backward since they were disturbed by the natives, with Mr. +Robinson, as they destroyed with fire all the shelter that was afforded. +The water throughout the islands is not always very good; grain, however, +thrives tolerably, and potatoes do very well indeed. The latter are +taken, with peas and other garden produce, to Port Dalrymple. This is an +evident proof of what these islands are capable of producing, and is +worthy the attention of Government, in case the idea, which I have +suggested, is entertained, of sending convicts thither from Tasmania. + +WATERHOUSE ISLAND. + +Taking advantage of a very unexpected breeze from the eastward we left +Preservation Island for Port Dalrymple, which was made after a night's +run, on the morning of the 26th November. Eighteen miles from the +entrance of Banks Strait, and as far as abreast of Waterhouse Island,* +and nine miles from it, we had soundings of from 18 to 20 fathoms; +afterwards the depth was 30 and 40; whilst in the fairway nine miles from +the opposite entrance of the Strait we had 37. + +(*Footnote. This island lies about a mile and a half from the main, and +affords shelter for ships in westerly winds. They should anchor in 6 +fathoms, midway in a line between the north points of the island and of +the bay lying to the south-east. This anchorage being not so far to +leeward as those on the western side of Flinders, is the best place of +refuge for strangers arriving in a westerly gale off Port Dalrymple, +where, as they can get no assistance from the pilots, they may not like +to run in, on account of its treacherous appearance. Tenth Island (a mere +white rock) and Ninth Island, are admirably situated for guiding a ship +to Waterhouse; the first, bears North-East 1/2 East, twelve miles from +the entrance of Port Dalrymple; the course from it to Ninth Island (which +should be passed on the outside) is North 52 degrees East, fourteen +miles; and from Ninth Island to Waterhouse, North 69 degrees East, +seventeen miles. The latter islands are very much alike in the distance, +being both rather low, with cliffy faces to the westward, and sloping +away in the opposite direction. Mount Cameron, bearing South 61 degrees +East, is also a distant guide for Waterhouse Island. The great advantage +of running for this place, instead of for an anchorage on the western +side of Flinders, is that, in the event of missing it, Banks Strait will +be open to run through; and should the Anchorage under Swan Island not be +tried, shelter will be found in about 15 fathoms under the main to the +southward.) + +MR. FORSYTH. + +Mr. Forsyth, in the Vansittart, had again preceded our arrival in the +river Tamar by a few days. His visit to the west coast had been attended +with considerable risk.* Still, with his usual zeal, he had not lost +sight of the important branch of the service in which he was employed, +and had made a survey of Port Davy and the coast to the South-west Cape, +which completed our chart of the south-western shores of Tasmania. + +(*Footnote. Mr. Forsyth entered and examined Macquarie Harbour in his +boat, and found on an island, in the head of it, two men in a state of +starvation. These he took with him and returned to the mouth of the +harbour; but a gale of wind having set in in the meantime, the Vansittart +had sought shelter in Port Davy, lying ninety miles to the southward. Day +after day passed away without any sign of the cutter. The increase of +two, requiring much more than could be afforded, to their small party, +soon consumed their stock of provisions, sparingly dealt out; so that, to +preserve the lives of his party, Mr. Forsyth was obliged to risk a +boat-passage, in the depth of winter, and along a storm-beaten coast, to +Port Davy, which he most providentially reached in safety; though, at one +time, in spite of the precaution taken to raise the gunwale by strips of +blanket, the sea was so great that they expected each moment would be +their last.) + +The coast on either side of the Tamar still remained to be surveyed, and +accordingly I undertook the examination of that to the eastward, whilst +Mr. Fitzmaurice, although even now scarcely convalescent, proceeded to +the westward. + +DESCRIPTION OF COAST. + +Without entering into details, I may briefly say, that to the eastward +the coast trended North 62 degrees East to Cape Portland, distant +fifty-eight miles; and that at the distance of eight, eighteen, +twenty-nine, forty-eight, and fifty-three miles, the rivers Currie, +Piper, Forestier, Tomahawk, and Ringarooma, empty themselves into wide +bays, which increase in depth as they advance eastwards. That formed by +the point opposite Waterhouse Island and Cape Portland,* which receives +the two last-mentioned rivers, and bears the name of the larger +Ringarooma Bay, is seven miles deep and fifteen miles wide. Mount Cameron +lies behind the head of it, where there is a vast extent of boggy land; +this is also the case in the next bay to the westward, Anderson Bay, +which receives the waters of the Forestier River.** The only good soil +seen was on the large Piper River, so that the disproportion of land fit +for cultivation on this part of the northern shore of Tasmania, with that +which is not, is very great. Behind the coast the eye wanders over +interminable woody ranges of various heights, thrown together in +irregular groups, called by the colonists Tiers. They are seldom +separated by valleys of any width, but rather by gullies, and are +generally covered with an impervious scrub. The most conspicuous points, +in addition to Mount Cameron, are Mounts Barrow and Arthur, two peaks +about 4,500 feet high, very much alike, and lying nine miles in a +north-west direction from each other. Mount Barrow bears, from +Launceston, East-North-East, thirteen miles. + +(*Footnote. Small vessels anchor behind an island on the west side of +this cape, to take away the wool from the sheep-stations in the +neighbourhood. The rivers mentioned in the text are only navigable for +boats, and by them only at high-water.) + +(**Footnote. A small bay, with some outlying rocks off its points, +bearing South-South-East, seven miles from Ninth Island, affords shelter +for small vessels in its north-west corner. The passage inside that +island should be used with caution.) + +DON TOMAS. + +At the large Piper River I passed a night at the station of a gentleman +of the name of Noland, whom I found to be the nephew of a person of +remarkable talent and great influence with the Peruvian Government, known +only, at Lima, by the name of Don Tomas. There was a good deal of mystery +about his character and position, nobody being able to explain who he +was, whence he came, or what was the source of his influence; and it was +rather a curious circumstance that I should learn the explanation of what +had so much puzzled me in South America, at a solitary sheep-station in +Van Diemen's Land. + +Shortly before we crossed the Great Piper River a party of convicts had +run away with a fishing boat. Although only three in number they made the +fishermen take them to Banks Strait, where they forced a party of sealers +to pass them over to Wilson's Promontory. Notwithstanding they were +several weeks on the passage, waiting for fine weather at the different +islands (the sealers, too, being twice their number) such was their +vigilance that they never allowed them a chance of escape. These men were +afterwards seen near Sydney. + +CONVICTS' STORY. + +The most remarkable coast-feature, between Waterhouse Island and the +Tamar, is Stony Head, a bluff three hundred feet high,* lying twelve +miles from Port Dalrymple. A small sandy bay separates it from a point to +the westward, and it is the nearest part of the main to Tenth Island. In +the neighbourhood of this headland I was induced to enter a hut at a +sheep-station, by seeing stuck round a fence a number of the heads of an +animal called by the colonists a hyena, from the resemblance it bears in +shape and colour, though not in ferocity, to that beast.** My object was +to obtain a few of these heads, which the hut-keeper, who was the only +inmate, instantly gave, along with an unsolicited history of his own +life. In the early part we instantly discovered that this loquacious +personage was, what he afterwards mildly confessed to be, a government +man, in other words a convict, sent out of course, according to the usual +story, through mistake. It appears that he had been a drover, and that a +few beasts were one morning found (quite by accident) among a herd he was +driving through the West of England. He had spent the early part of his +servitude at Circular Head, where he was for some time in charge of the +native woman caught stealing flour at a shepherd's hut, belonging to the +Van Diemen's Land Agricultural Company--a fact mentioned in a former +chapter.*** + +(*Footnote. Of basaltic formation; whilst the rocks that prevail to the +eastward are of primary character. But as Strzelecki has written so +largely on the geology of Tasmania, it will be needless for me to enter +further into the subject, except to say, that the raised beaches found on +the western side of Flinders, are evidences of an upheaval having +recently taken place.) + +(**Footnote. This is the only animal the Tasmanian sheep-farmer is +annoyed with; and from its paucity, they have not, as in New South Wales, +the trouble of securing their flocks in yards or folds every night.) + +(***Footnote. See Volume 1.) + +INHUMAN CONDUCT. + +I was curious to know how he managed to procure the obedience of this +aboriginal victim; and the inhuman wretch confessed, without a +blush--which must rise instead to the cheeks of my readers, when they +hear of what barbarities their countrymen have been guilty--that he kept +the poor creature chained up like a wild beast; and whenever he wanted +her to do anything, applied a burning stick, a fire-brand snatched from +the hearth, to her skin! This was enough. I could listen to no more, and +hurried from the spot, leaving my brutal informant to guess at the cause +of my abrupt departure. It is possible that the emotion I allowed to +appear may have introduced some glimmering of the truth into his mind, +that he may have faintly perceived how disgusted I was with his +narrative; but such is the perversion of feeling among a portion of the +colonists, that they cannot conceive how anyone can sympathize with the +black race as their fellow men. In theory and practice they regard them +as wild beasts whom it is lawful to extirpate. There are of course +honourable exceptions, although such is a very common sentiment. As an +instance, I may mention that a friend of mine, who was once travelling in +Tasmania, with two natives of Australia, was asked, by almost everyone, +where he had CAUGHT them? This expression will enable the reader better +to appreciate the true state of the case than many instances of ferocity +I could enumerate. It shows that the natives occupy a wrong position in +the minds of the whites; and that a radical defect exists in their +original conception of their character, and of the mode in which they +ought to be treated. + +CAPTURE OF NATIVES. + +Soon after I returned to the ship at Port Dalrymple, a party of natives +was sent on board, with a request that I would allow the Vansittart to +take them to Flinders Island; it consisted of an elderly woman and man, +two young men, and a little boy. These were the remainder of the small +tribe to which belonged the woman who received, as I have related, such +cruel treatment from her keeper. I should here state, that when she was +removed to Flinders Island, none of the natives there could understand +her--a fact somewhat hostile to the theory of those who hold that there +is little or no variety in the aboriginal languages of Australasia. + +The party of natives in question were taken by some sealers on the +western coast, near Arthur's River, and not far from the Van Diemen's +Land Agricultural Company's station at Point Woolnorth, to which place +they were first brought. A reward of 50 pounds had been offered for their +apprehension, on account of some depredations they were said to have from +time to time committed. A countrywoman of their own, the wife of one of +the sealers, was instrumental in their capture. Pretence was made that +the boat would carry them to some good hunting ground; but when they were +all afloat, and prostrated by sea-sickness, the sealers made sail for the +Company's station at Point Woolnorth, with a freight more valuable than +seal-skins. + +THE LAST MAN. + +These were supposed to be the last of the aboriginal inhabitants of +Tasmania; though a report at one time prevailed that a solitary young man +had been left behind. If this be the case, his position must be truly +lamentable. Alone of all his race on that vast island, belonging to a +people against whom the deepest prejudices are entertained, who have been +hunted down like wild beasts by the new population, professing a religion +which should teach them to act otherwise towards their brethren, no +resource must have been left to him but to fly to the most inaccessible +fastnesses, to hide in the gloomiest forests and darkest caverns, and to +pass the remainder of his miserable life in constant struggles to prolong +it, and in ceaseless endeavours to stave off that final consummation +which could alone ensure him peace, and safety, and rest. Whether or not +the report of the existence of this Last Man was true I cannot say; but, +certainly, his story, imaginary or real, suggests numerous reflections, +and opens a wide field for conjecture and speculation. What was the +character of his thoughts, what importance he attached to the +prolongation of his life, cut off as he was from the world, a solitary +being, with no future prospect of the enjoyment of society, with no hope +of seeing his race continued, we cannot tell. But his fate, at least, +must force upon us the questions--have we dealt justly by these wild +people? have we nothing to answer for, now that we have driven them from +their native land, leaving no remnant, save one single individual, whose +existence even is problematical? Without wishing to press too hard on any +body of my countrymen, I must say I regret that that page of history +which records our colonization of Australia must reach the eyes of +posterity. + +The woman, whose capture I have more than once alluded to, was, +doubtless, the wife of one of the young men taken by the sealers, and +mother of the boy who accompanied him. The prospect of meeting her +probably lightened the hours of his captivity. But what a tale of +suffering she had to relate! What had she not undergone as the penalty of +an attempt to procure food for her family. With the narrative of her +sorrows fresh in my memory, I could not but sympathize deeply with the +last five of the aboriginal Tasmanians that now stood before me. + +CHARACTERISTICS AND REMOVAL OF NATIVES. + +These natives differed even more than others I had seen as the wives of +sealers, from the inhabitants of the Australian continent, possessing +quite the negro cast of countenance, and hair precisely of their woolly +character. These characteristics are nowhere to be found on the +continent, natives from every part of which have come under my +observation. The difference existing is so great, that I feel warranted +in pronouncing them to be a distinct race. Excellent likenesses of +Tasmanian natives will be found in Strzelecki's work on New South Wales, +where the truth of these remarks will be perceived at a glance. + +Having thus been engaged in the removal of the last of the natives to +Flinders Island, I feel that it is incumbent on me to give a short +account of the causes which led to it. In the first place, history +teaches us that whenever civilized man comes in contact with a savage +race, the latter almost inevitably begins to decrease, and to approach by +more or less gradual steps towards extinction. Whether this catastrophe +is the result of political, moral, or physical causes, the ablest writers +have not been able to decide; and most men seem willing to content +themselves with the belief that the event is in accordance with some +mysterious dispensation of Providence; and the purest philanthropy can +only teach us to alleviate their present condition, and to smooth, as it +were, the pillow of an expiring people. For my own part I am not willing +to believe, that in this conflict of races, there is an absence of moral +responsibility on the part of the whites; I must deny that it is in +obedience to some all-powerful law, the inevitable operation of which +exempts us from blame, that the depopulation of the countries we colonize +goes on. + +WAR OF EXTERMINATION. + +There appear to me to be the means of tracing this national crime to the +individuals who perpetrate it; and it is with the deepest sorrow that I +am obliged to confess that my countrymen have not, in Tasmania, exhibited +that magnanimity which has often been the prominent feature in their +character. They have sternly and systematically trampled on the fallen. I +have before remarked that they started with an erroneous theory, which +they found to tally with their interests, and to relieve them from the +burden of benevolence and charity. That the aborigines were not men, but +brutes, was their avowed opinion; and what cruelties flowed from such a +doctrine! It is not my purpose to enter into details; I will only add +that the treatment of the poor captive native by her inhuman keeper was +in accordance with the sentiments prevailing, at one time, in the colony, +and would not have received the condemnation of public opinion. + +The natural consequence of such conduct by the whites, commenced in the +very infancy of the colony, was a system of frightful retaliation on the +part of the natives. These led to counter-reprisals, every year +accumulating the debt of crime and vengeance on either hand, until the +memory of the first provocation was lost, and a war of extermination, the +success of which was, in the end, complete, began to be carried on. + +ATTEMPTED CAPTURE OF NATIVES. + +It was not until exasperation, on either side, rose to its highest, that +measures were taken to prevent the complete destruction of the +aborigines. The first method selected was not characterized by prudence; +being the result of the passionate counsels of the great body of +colonists, who were smarting under evils entailed upon them by their own +violent conduct. As is natural in all these cases, they looked only to +the necessity of protecting their property and their lives; and did not +take into account the massacres, the cruelties of every description, +which had been at one time encouraged, or at least not condemned by the +general voice. The casuistry of the human heart, in most instances, +concealed the true state of the case, and many, if not the majority, felt +the virtuous indignation which some only affected. At any rate, they set +about the hunting down and capture of the aborigines, as a duty which +they owed to themselves and their families. Government, with the best +intentions, lent them every assistance in its power. The whole colony +rose to a man; and military operations on a most extensive scale were +undertaken. Cordons were established, marches and countermarches +performed, complicated manoeuvres planned and executed, and every method +resorted to, which in a different country and against a different enemy +must have been rewarded with complete success. But in this instance, the +impenetrable forests of Tasmania baffled the generalship and the tactics +that were displayed; and an expedition attended with immense expense, and +carried on with the greatest enthusiasm, ended in the capture of a single +native. + +REMOVAL OF ABORIGINES TO FLINDERS ISLAND. + +It was now evident that means of another character must be tried, and the +plan which Mr. Robinson had laid before Government for the capture of the +natives in the meshes of persuasion was adopted. This enterprising +person, accordingly, went alone and unattended among the aborigines, +endured great privations, ran much risk, but finally, partly by his +eloquence, partly by stratagem, contrived to bring in the tribes one by +one, and to transport them quietly to the islands in the eastern entrance +of Bass Strait. Mr. Bateman, commanding the colonial brig, Tamar, who +took them across, describes them as reconciled to their fate, though +during the whole passage they sat on the vessel's bulwark, shaking little +bags of human bones, apparently as a charm against the danger to which +they felt exposed. + +They were first taken to Swan Island, but that not being found +convenient, they were landed on the west side of Flinders Island, under +the superintendence of Mr. Robinson. This place, also, was discovered to +be ill-adapted for a permanent settlement; and a removal again took place +to Vansittart or Gun-carriage Island, at the eastern extremity of +Franklin Channel, where a number of sealers had been resident for some +years; as, however, they could not show any title to the land they +cultivated, except that of original occupancy--a title which I think +should be respected, as it is the only true basis of the right of +property--they were obliged to vacate, leaving their huts and crops to be +laid waste. In the course of a few weeks, when considerable mischief had +been effected, this position, likewise, was abandoned, and a location +made once more on the west side of Flinders, about sixteen miles to the +northward of Franklin Inlet. + +SETTLEMENT. + +The Home Government directed that in this their place of banishment every +attention should be paid to the wants of the aborigines, and a liberal +scale of necessaries provided. The officers of the establishment +originally consisted of the superintendent, medical officer, catechist +and storekeeper; but when the buildings, etc. for the settlement, were +completed, the convicts were withdrawn, which diminished the number so +much, that it was deemed practicable to reduce the staff of officers, and +the whole duties of the four departments above alluded to devolved on one +person, under the name of Surgeon-Superintendent. The combination of so +many duties has, unfortunately, necessitated the neglect of some portion +or another, possibly of the most material. The Sabbath afternoon is the +only time that can be set apart for the religious instruction of the +natives. This is to be regretted, as we have ample evidence of how +capable they are of receiving it, in the lasting effects produced by Mr. +Clarke, who sometime since filled the office of storekeeper; and for whom +they all continue to feel great veneration, and to exhibit that respect +which is due to a parent. On our visit in 1842 we heard all the natives +of both sexes, old and young, sing several hymns, taught them by this +excellent person. A few comprehended the full meaning of the words they +uttered; and all, no doubt, might be brought to do so if proper +instructions were again granted them. + +Walter and Mary Ann, a married couple, who had recently returned from +Port Phillip, where they had been living in the family of the former +superintendent, Mr. Robinson, were so civilized, and proficient in all +the plain parts of education, that they possessed great influence over +their countrymen, who, incited by the contemplation of their superiority, +were apparently desirous of acquiring knowledge. The barracks in which +the natives dwell form a square of good stone buildings; but Walter and +his wife have a separate cottage, with a piece of land attached. Mary Ann +is a very tolerable needlewoman, and capable of teaching the others; some +of whom, encouraged by the prizes that are awarded to industry, already +assist in making their own dresses. + +MORTALITY AMONG NATIVES. + +The men, to whom inducements are also held out to labour in farming, +etc., are, however, generally indolent. They still retain a taste for +their original wild habits, taking to the bush, occasionally, for several +days together; and in order to enjoy all the freedom of limb to which +they had been accustomed, throwing off their European clothing. This +practice has been expressly prohibited, as from the sudden resumption of +savage habits, and the abandonment of the covering to which they had +become accustomed, severe illness resulted. To this may in part be +attributable the rapid mortality which exists among them, and which leads +us to suppose that at no distant period their utter extinction must take +place. Out of two hundred who were originally taken to Flinders Island, +more than one hundred and fifty had perished in 1842, to replace which +loss, an addition of only fourteen by births, besides seven brought in +the Vansittart, had been made. It seems, in truth, impossible that a race +transported from their country, suddenly compelled to change all their +habits and modes of life, kept under restraint, however mild and +paternal, obliged to repress all the powerful instincts which lead them +to desire a renewal of their wild and unfettered life, tormented by the +memory of the freedom they once enjoyed, and galled by the moral chain +which they now wear, constantly sighing in secret for the perilous charms +of the wilderness, for their hunts, and their corrobberies, for the hills +and mountains and streams of their native land--it is impossible, I say, +that a people whose life has undergone such a change, who cherish such +reminiscences and such regrets, should increase and multiply and +replenish the face of the land. + +TREATMENT OF NATIVES. + +Their destiny is accomplished. In obedience to a necessity--of man's +creating certainly, but still a necessity--they have been expatriated for +their own preservation; to restore them, would be but to ensure their +speedier destruction; and all we can do is to soothe their declining +years, to provide that they shall advance gently, surrounded by all the +comforts of civilization, and by all the consolations of religion, to +their inevitable doom; and to draw a great lesson from their melancholy +history, namely, that we should not leave, until it is too late, the +aborigines of the countries we colonize exposed to the dangers of an +unregulated intercourse with the whites; that, without giving them any +undue preference, without falling into the dangerous extreme of +favouritism--an error of which the most high-minded and generous are +susceptible in the case of a depressed race--we should consider, that in +entering their country we incur a great responsibility, and that it +behoves us at once to establish distinctly the relation in which they +stand to the government, the colonists, and the soil! + +COAST FROM THE TAMAR TO EMU BAY. + +Mr. Fitzmaurice's examination of the coast to the westward extended to +Dial Point, distant twenty-nine miles from the Tamar. In this space there +are no less than five rivers, all with very short courses, and not +navigable except by boats and small craft; and by these only, on account +of the surf on their bars, in fine weather. The first empties itself into +an estuary, called Port Sorel; but it is difficult to detect the mouths +of the others in the low sandy shore, which is deceptive, as the hills +rising immediately in the rear give the coast a bold striking appearance +from the offing. These rivers, namely, the Sorel, the Mersey,* the Don, +the Frith, and the Leven, are distant from the Tamar, eleven, eighteen, +twenty, twenty-three and twenty-seven miles. + +(*Footnote. A horse-shoe reef, extending nearly two miles from the shore, +lies two miles to the eastward.) + +A range of hills, nearly 2000 feet high, in which asbestos is found, lies +midway between Port Sorel and the Tamar; and immediately over Dial Point +rises a peaked range, of the same name; whilst Valentine Peak,* 4000 feet +in height, is situated twenty-three miles South 40 degrees West from the +above point. This peak is a bare mass of granite, and as it glistens in +the first beams of the morning sun like an immense spire, forms the most +remarkable hill-feature in the north side of Tasmania. High level ranges +extend to the eastward of it for some distance. + +(*Footnote. In latitude 41 degrees 17 minutes South and longitude 5 +degrees 28 1/2 minutes West of Sydney, and when bearing South by West is +a distant guide to Emu Bay.) + +From Dial Point to Circular Head the coast trends North 72 degrees West, +and as far as Rocky Point the shore is steep and woody. Emu Bay* lies at +the end of the first ten miles; it is a confined anchorage, affording +shelter in westerly winds. A river of the same name runs into it, and +another called the Blyth joins the sea a mile and a half on the Tamar +side of the east point, which has a remarkable round hill on it: nearly +four and five and a half miles to the westward of this bay are other +small streams. An islet lies at the mouth of the eastern one; and in its +neighbourhood only the shore, which falls back a little, is sandy and +faced with rocks. + +(*Footnote. The North-West or Blackman's Point is low, and in latitude 41 +degrees 2 minutes 45 seconds South, longitude 5 degrees 18 minutes 50 +seconds West of Sydney.) + +ROCKY CAPE. + +The River Inglis is of a good size; but a reef extends off the mouth and +some distance to the eastward; it is two miles and a half to the +South-South-East of a headland, called Table Cape, the distances between +which, Rocky Cape, Circular Head, and Emu Bay, are equal, namely, eleven +miles and a half. Rocky Cape has a high pointed summit, with other peaks +in the rear; a sunken rock is said to lie a mile and a half north of it; +and the coast from thence to Circular Head falls back, forming a bight; +five miles to the south-east of it is a sandy bay with a small rivulet +running into it. The Sisters, two round hills, 870 feet high, renders the +east point remarkable; an islet with a reef of considerable extent fronts +it for some distance. + +ESCAPED CONVICTS. + +One of the pilots at Port Dalrymple, I found, had travelled along the +west coast of Tasmania, from Macquarie Harbour to Point Woolnorth. He +crossed four or five small rivers; but the country was covered with a low +scrub, growing in an impenetrable network along the surface of the soil, +so that he could only make progress by keeping the shore. He was landed +from a colonial vessel, by a party of convicts who had taken possession +of it, and afterwards succeeded in reaching Valdivia, on the west coast +of South America. They scuttled the vessel off the harbour's mouth, and +came in in the boat, reporting it to have foundered. Being useful +artificers in such an out of the way place, few inquiries were made about +them, and they were received by the governor as a very acceptable +addition to the population. Singular to say, when at Valdivia in 1835, I +saw some of these men; they were married, and continued to be regarded as +a very great acquisition, although a kind of mystery was attached to +them. However, their enjoyment of liberty and repose was destined to be +but short. Their whereabouts became known, and a man of war was sent to +take them. All but one again effected their escape, in a boat they had +just finished for the governor; and they have not since been heard of. +The remaining delinquent was afterwards hanged at Hobart, where he gave a +detailed and interesting narrative of the whole affair. + +DIRECTIONS FOR THE NAVIGATION OF THE MOUTH OF THE TAMAR. + +The few quiet days we had during our stay at Port Dalrymple, enabled us +satisfactorily to complete the soundings at the entrance. Beacons were +also erected on the shore by the Beagle's crew, for guiding vessels +through the channels; they, however, require to be kept white, in order +to show well against the dark ground behind. I furnished Lieutenant M. +Friend, R.N. the port officer, with a few notes on the navigation of the +Tamar, which, for the sake of the nautical reader, I give below.* + +(*Footnote. The most formidable shoal in the mouth of the Tamar, bearing +the name of the Middle Ground, is a rocky patch, with, according to +report, only 9 feet on one spot at low-water, spring tides, but the least +depth found on it by the (Beagle's) boats was 12 feet. The north extreme +of Low Head, in one with the first black cliffy projection to the +eastward of it, or the flagstaff on Low Head, open northward of the +lighthouse, clears the northern edge of it. The leading marks for +entering eastward of the Middle Ground, generally called the Eastern +Channel, are the Shear and West Beacons. The latter stands in front of +Dr. Browne's house, which is the first inside Point Friend, the western +entrance point. The Shear Beacon must be kept a little open to the left +or eastward of the West Beacon, until you get abreast of the lighthouse; +after which, both beacons should be kept in one. When within two cables +and a half of the Shear Beacon, the course should be changed in the +direction of the Red Beacon on the Barrel Rock, the first on the eastern +side, to avoid a patch of kelp, extending one cable and a half in an +easterly direction from the Shear Beacon, the depth, there, at low-water +is 9 fathoms, and the least in the channel is 4 fathoms, on a ledge, +apparently extending from Low Head to the Middle Ground. + +The Western Channel is two cables wide, with a depth, in the shoalest +part, of 10 fathoms; it is formed by the Middle Ground on the eastern +side, and the Yellow Rock Reef on the western; the latter is an extensive +patch of kelp, with a double light-coloured rock near its extremity. The +least water on it at low-water is 6 feet; from the Shear Beacon, it bears +North 50 degrees West five-tenths of a mile, and from the lighthouse, +South 52 degrees West eight-tenths of a mile. The Shear Beacon and the +flagstaff at George Town in a line lead over the outer extreme. There is +generally a white buoy in its vicinity, and a black one on the western +edge of the Middle Ground. The Barrel Rock red beacon, and the high and +low white beacons, erected by the Beagle's crew on the shore over Lagoon +Bay, kept in one, lead through the Western Channel. When abreast of the +Shear Beacon, steer for the next beyond on the west side of the channel, +to avoid a long patch of kelp, with three and five fathoms in it, +extending two cables and a half to the South-South-West of the Barrel +Rock. + +The high part of the Western Reef, bearing South by East leads into the +fairway of the Western Channel, when will be seen the white beacons over +Lagoon Bay. The latter is the second sandy beach inside the lighthouse on +the eastern shore. The Western Reefs are those fronting Point Friend; the +part above-mentioned, the only spot uncovered at high-water, is a black +patch of rocks near their northern extreme. + +The only danger near the entrance of the Tamar is the Hebe Reef, named +after a ship lost on it in 1808; it occupies a space of a quarter of a +mile, chiefly in an east direction. A small portion of its centre is +nearly dry at low-water; this part bears South 89 degrees West, three +miles and three-tenths from the lighthouse on Low Head; inside it there +is a channel of 7 fathoms. The guide for passing northward of it, is a +white spot on the North-West extreme of Low Head in one with the +lighthouse; the latter will then bear East 16 degrees South. + +The shoals, on either side, within the entrance of the river, are marked +with beacons. Those on the western shore, have a letter V sideways with a +vertical bar on the top; and those on the eastern a dagger. Shoals marked +with chequered buoys, may be passed on either side; a red or black buoy, +signifies that the danger extends from the eastern shore; and a white +one, that it extends from the western. + +The result of 115 tidal observations, taken three miles within the +entrance, gives 12 hours 06 minutes for the time of high-water on the +full and change day. The rise of tide was irregular, the least being 4, +and the greatest 10 feet. The highest noticed in the Beagle was during +the neaps, caused by a strong North-West gale forcing the water into the +river. The tides flow 5 hours 50 minutes, and ebb 6 hours 25 minutes, +with a velocity varying from two to five miles an hour, according as the +river is confined or open. The ebb-stream setting round Low Head into the +bay to the eastward, is apt to drift vessels in that direction. Three +miles in the offing the flood-stream runs from one to two knots to the +West-North-West. + +The position of the lighthouse on Low Head is as follows: latitude 41 +degrees 03 minutes 26 seconds South, longitude 4 degrees 25 minutes 44 +seconds West, of Sydney; or 146 degrees 50 minutes 16 seconds East of +Greenwich, variation 10 degrees 05 minutes easterly. The light is +elevated 140 feet above the sea-level, and may be seen, in clear weather, +sixteen miles from the decks of small vessels, revolving once in fifty +seconds.) + +THE GLENNIE ISLES. + +On December 19th both vessels left the Tamar; the Vansittart for Flinders +Island, to land the unfortunate natives; whilst the Beagle crossed the +strait to Wilson's Promontory, anchoring behind an island two miles long, +trending north and south, with a hollow in the centre, forming a saddle, +the highest part being 450 feet high. It is the northernmost of a group +called the Glennie Islands, fronting the south-western face of the +Promontory; and is strewn over with blocks of granite, which give it a +castellated appearance. We did not find this anchorage very good, the +depth being 20 fathoms, and the bottom sand over rock. Three small islets +lie close to the south-west point, and a reef extends a cable's length +off the northern. There is a passage nearly four miles wide, and 23 +fathoms deep, between this part of Glennie's Group and the Promontory. +The singular break in the high land on the latter, bearing East 1/2 North +is a distant guide to the anchorage, in which the flood-tide sets to the +northward, and when aided by the current, attains a strength of a knot +and a half; the time of high-water, is a quarter of an hour later than at +Refuge Cove. + +We found on this, the largest of the group, a small black dog, that had +been left behind by some visitor, recently I should say, from his anxiety +to be taken on board, which was done. It was, also, on this island that +the intrepid Bass met a number of runaway convicts, who had been +treacherously left by their companions one night when asleep, the party +being too large for the boat they had run away with from Sydney, with the +intention of plundering the wreck of the Sydney Cove, at Preservation +Island in Banks Strait. Thus they were actually the first to traverse +this part of the Strait, which has received its name from the +enterprising Mr. Bass. + +CAPE LIPTRAP. + +Leaving the Glennie Isles we examined the coast beyond Cape Liptrap;* and +from thence made the best of our way to Western Port. There I availed +myself of the kind offer of Mr. Anderson--a settler on the Bass River, +who was going to Cape Patterson, to shoot wild cattle, the produce of the +stock left behind when the old settlement was abandoned--to give Mr. +Fitzmaurice, and a small party, conveyance in his bullock dray to that +projection, for the purpose of determining its position. A party was also +landed on the eastern entrance of Grant Island, to collect tidal +observations. + +(*Footnote. The next headland to Wilson's Promontory, from the extreme of +which it bears North-West by West, twenty-four miles; the shore between +recedes, forming a bay nine miles deep. The Cape lies in latitude 38 +degrees 55 minutes South, longitude 5 degrees 17 minutes West of Sydney, +145 degrees 57 minutes East, and is the extreme of a tableland three +hundred and fifty feet high. A small islet lies close to the shore, about +two miles northward from the extreme, where there is a boat cove. Where +the rocky coast ceases to the eastward, the shore falls back, affording +shelter for vessels in north-west winds; a rock lies off the southern +point of this anchorage.) + +CORIO HARBOUR. + +Having made these arrangements, we left for Port Phillip, where, after +landing another party at Shortland's Bluff, also to make tidal +observations, we pursued our course round Indented Head towards Corio +Harbour, anchoring off Point Henry--where no less than four vessels were +lading with wool for England--early on the morning of the 27th. We +devoted the remainder of this day and the next to making a plan of the +harbour; and from the result of our survey I feel more than ever +convinced that the bar (through the northern part of which a channel +winds for vessels of eight feet at low-water) might be removed, and the +entrance rendered fit for vessels of any draught. There is deep water in +the south-western part, close to the northern side of Geelong, where, by +erecting wharfs, large ships might discharge alongside, an advantage +which can never be obtained at Melbourne,* and of so great importance +that I am induced to believe Geelong will ultimately be the capital of +Australia Felix. In this event communication will be held with Melbourne +by railroad, for which the country intervening is admirably adapted, +being a complete level the entire way. At present a steamer plies daily +between the two places; and when we consider that on our last visit, only +two years before, Geelong consisted of a few sheds at its north end only, +and now stretched across from Corio Harbour to the River Barwon, a space +of more than a mile, the belief seems warranted that at no distant period +the line of rail I allude to must be laid down. The township is now +divided into North and South Geelong; the latter lies on a slope, +reaching the river's edge. + +(*Footnote. Corio Harbour is in fact the best anchorage in Port Phillip, +that at Hobson's Bay being very confined, and scarcely affording any +shelter from southerly winds for large ships. Moreover, Corio Harbour +lies more convenient for the western districts, there being no other +place where the sheep-farmers of those parts can, with safety, ship their +wool, except Portland Bay.) + +CAPTAIN FYANS. + +Located in a snug house, with a garden teeming with flowers, that +reminded one of home, and overlooking a still reach of the Barwon, I +found Captain Fyans, of whom I have before spoken. + +ENCOUNTER WITH A NATIVE. + +In the course of conversation, pointing to a weapon used by the natives, +called a Lliangle, resembling a miner's pick, he said, "I had that driven +through my horse's nose, a short time since, by a native, of whom I was +in pursuit." As I expressed a desire to be made acquainted with the +circumstance, he informed me, that being out with a party of mounted +police, in search of some natives who had been committing depredations on +the flocks of the settlers, in the neighbourhood of Port Fairey, he +suddenly, whilst crossing a valley in advance of his men, came upon the +chief of those of whom he was in chase. He, too, was alone; an attack +immediately commenced. The native threw his spears, but without effect; +and Captain Fyans, finding that the rain had wetted the priming of his +pistols, charged to cut him down; but such was his antagonist's dexterity +in defending himself with his shield, only a narrow piece of wood, that +beyond a few nicks on the fingers, Captain Fyans' sword-cuts were of no +avail. Several times he attempted to ride over the native; who, however, +doubled himself up in a ball under his shield, and was saved by the +natural reluctance of a horse to trample on a prostrate man in going over +him. After having been apparently more than once ridden down, the chief +managed to drive his lliangle through the horse's nose, and so firmly +that he was unable to withdraw it. The wound inflicted bled so freely +that Captain Fyans was obliged to pull up, and the native made his +escape. He was not only a fine fellow in conduct, but in person, having a +chest, as Captain Fyans expressed it, like a bullock's. I afterwards +learned that he displayed the sword-cuts upon his shield in triumph at +some of the sheep-stations. + +From Corio Harbour* we proceeded to Hobson's Bay, for a meridian +distance, the result of which was highly satisfactory, differing from our +former measurement only five seconds. The longitude, therefore, of +Batman's Hill, 6 degrees 16 minutes 17 seconds West of Sydney, or +(approximately) 144 degrees 59 minutes 43 seconds East of Greenwich, may +be relied on. + +(*Footnote. The approach to this harbour would be vastly improved by a +buoy placed at the end of the spit extending nearly across from Point +Wilson on the north shore.) + +MELBOURNE. + +A great improvement had been made since our last visit in the approach to +the anchorage, by the erection of a light on Point Gellibrand.* This we +found to be a small lamp fixed at the top of a kind of wooden framework, +thirty feet high, suggested by the superintendent, Mr. LaTrobe; and for a +temporary economical affair, until a more expensive light can be +afforded, it is certainly a clever contrivance. + +(*Footnote. This light may be seen from a ship's deck, in clear weather, +seven miles off. Vessels intending to anchor in Hobson's Bay should keep +the light bearing North-West by North until the water shoals to 6 +fathoms; then steer North by West. When the lights of William Town open +out, bearing South-West by West, haul in West-South-West for the +anchorage. The best berth is in 3 1/2 fathoms, with the light bearing +South 1/4 East and the jetty at William Town South-West 1/2 West.) + +The last three years had also made great additions to the buildings of +William Town; but Melbourne had so increased that we hardly knew it +again. Wharfs and stores fronted the banks of the Yarra-yarra; whilst +further down, tanners and soap-boilers had established themselves on +either side, where, formerly, had been tea-tree thickets, from which the +cheerful pipe of the bell-bird greeted the visitor. Very different, +however, were now the sights, and sounds, and smells, that assailed our +senses; the picturesque wilderness had given place to the unromantic +realities of industry; and the reign of business had superseded that of +poetry and romance. + +MANNA. + +Near Melbourne I again noticed the manna mentioned above, but had no +opportunity of making further observations upon it. Mr. Bynoe, however, +having since visited Australia, has turned his attention to the subject, +and the result of his experience, which will be found below, tends to +overthrow the opinion I have previously expressed, to the effect, that +this substance is the exudation of a tree, not the deposit of an insect.* + +(*Footnote. There is a prevailing opinion in some parts of New Holland, +particularly on the east side, that the gumtrees distil a peculiar form +of manna, which drops at certain seasons of the year. I have heard it +from many of the inhabitants, who, on a close investigation, could only +say, that it was to be found adhering to the old and young bark of the +trees, as well as strewed on the ground beneath. + +In the month of December, about the warmest period of the year, during my +rambles through the forest in search of insects, I met with this manna in +the above-mentioned state, but could never find in any part of the bark a +fissure or break whence such a substance could flow. Wherever it +appeared, moreover, the red-eyed cicadae were in abundance. I was +inclined to think that the puncture produced by these suctorial insects +into the tender shoots for juice, would in all probability give an exit +for such a substance; but by wounding the tender branches with a +sharp-pointed knife, I could never obtain a saccharine fluid or +substance. It was the season when the cicadae were abundantly collected +together for reproduction; and on warm, clear, still days, they clung to +the more umbrageous parts, particularly to trees that, having been +deprived of old limbs, shot forth vigorous stems, thickly clustered with +leaves. To one of these, in which the male insects were making an +intolerable noise, I directed my steps, and quietly sheltered myself from +a hot wind that was crossing the harbour, bringing with it a dense column +of smoke, which for a short time shut out the powerful rays of the sun. I +found that the ground about the root of the tree was thinly covered with +the sugar-like substance, and in a few minutes I felt that a fluid was +dropping, which soon congealed on my clothes into a white substance. On +rising cautiously to ascertain from whence it came, with a full +determination not to disturb the insects but to watch their pursuits, I +observed that it was passing of a syrup-like consistence per anum from +the cicadae. As it ran down the smooth branches of the gumtree and over +the leaves it gradually congealed, and formed a white efflorescence. +Whilst ejecting this fluid, the insect raised the lower part of the +abdomen and passed off three or four drops in sudden jets, which either +streamed down the stem, or fell on the leaves or ground. + +I watched them for nearly half an hour, and in that space of time +observed between twenty and thirty distil this fluid, which gradually +concreted into a white substance. I collected above three ounces, some of +which I still have in my possession. The natives gather it in their rush +baskets and use it as a part of their food.) + +RED BLUFF. + +Leaving Hobson's Bay we passed along the east shore of Port Phillip in +search of a ledge of rocks, reported to lie about three miles off Red +Bluff, which is eight miles to the southward of the above-mentioned bay. +We, however, found this danger to be nothing more than the extreme of the +reef fronting that bluff for a distance of half a mile, in a West by +North direction, and which has three feet on it at low-water, with three +fathoms just outside. As the soundings gradually decrease to this depth, +the lead will always keep a ship clear of it. + +Anchoring under Arthur's Seat, I delivered the letters with which Mr. +Powlett, Commissioner of Crown Lands at Melbourne, had kindly furnished +me, to the different settlers in the neighbourhood, requesting them to +afford me every assistance in my contemplated visit to Cape Shanck, for +the purpose of determining its position. + +DR. BARKER. + +One of them was addressed to a gentleman residing close to the Cape, Dr. +Barker, to whom it was forwarded, and who returned with the messenger to +welcome me to his station, and in the most liberal manner placed at my +disposal, his horses and his services. + +ARTHUR'S SEAT. + +Early the following morning, a well mounted party of us started for +Arthur's Seat. I wished to get a few angles from its summit, and to show +to Captain Bunbury, R.N., Superintendent of Water Police at Melbourne, +the banks at the eastern entrance of the South Channel. Dr. Barker had +brought his dogs over with him, to show us some sport on our way to Cape +Shanck. They formed quite a pack; and among them were two bloodhounds of +a celebrated Duke's breed at home. Their deep rich notes as they wound +round the foot of Arthur's Seat, after a kangaroo, were quite cheering to +the heart; but the ground was too hilly for the fast dogs, and too dry +for the scent to lie. + +I was disappointed in not seeing Port Western from Arthur's Seat, which +had one of those unsatisfactory woody summits, of which it is difficult +exactly to ascertain the highest part. We passed a spring of water near +the south-eastern foot, and in a level beyond were some large lagoons. + +Our course was now bent towards Cape Shanck, lying eight miles to the +south. The first part lay over a level open woodland country; low hills +then made their appearance, becoming more numerous as we neared our +destination. At their commencement we turned off the road to look for a +kangaroo; a herd was soon found; but all, after a sharp burst of a few +miles, got away from us. + +KILLING A KANGAROO. + +When both horses and dogs had regained their wind we went to better +ground, and came suddenly on a fine herd. A large male, called an Old Man +by the colonists, loitering to protect the does under his care, was +singled out by the fastest dog; and a splendid run ensued; the country, +however, being rather woody, and strewed with fallen timber which was +concealed by long grass, only those who risked the pace over it enjoyed +the sport. The dogs stuck well to their game, and coming at last to an +open piece of ground, the fleetest began to close with the Old Man, who +was covering an immense space in each bound. At length the dog reached +the kangaroo's quarters, and burying his teeth in them, made him face +about, cutting at his pursuer, who kept out of reach, with his hind feet, +and then turning round and endeavouring to escape. But the same liberty +being again taken with his haunches he was once more brought to bay. The +rest of the pack now came up, and a fine half-bloodhound rushed in and +seized the kangaroo* by the throat; whilst the latter, in return, +fiercely clutched the dog round the neck; a violent struggle ensued, each +trying to choke the other. Although the dog that had first reached the +Old Man was biting his quarters, the danger that the game hound would be +laid open by a cut from the kangaroo's hind feet, determined Dr. Barker +and myself to watch an opportunity of creeping up behind a tree to assist +in the struggle. We accordingly did so, and managed to seize the animal +by his monstrous tail, so that by keeping a strain on it he was prevented +from lifting his hind leg, as if he had we should have pulled him over. + +(*Footnote. Although these animals have a most innocent countenance, the +large males are very dangerous when brought to bay. I know an instance of +a gentleman, who was endeavouring to assist his dog in killing one of +them, having his clothes severed in front and the skin of his body just +scratched by a cut from the hind leg. Had this person been any nearer the +kangaroo, his bowels would have been torn open. The middle toe projecting +and being armed with a strong nail, enable them to inflict dreadful +wounds, and frequently to kill dogs. It is seldom, indeed, that they will +attack a kangaroo in front; old dogs never do, but have a very clever way +of throwing the smaller kind by the stump of the tail when running.) + +The dogs, thus protected from injury, were at last victorious; and the +kangaroo, a great beast, weighing nearly two hundred pounds, was soon +stretched on the ground. + +CAPE SHANCK. + +Having secured the tail and hind feet we continued our road to Dr. +Barker's station, situated in one of the rich valleys I have spoken of, +in an early part of the work, as lying a mile and a half to the +North-East of Cape Shanck. + +On account of the state of the weather we were obliged to tax this +gentleman's hospitality for two nights, both the early parts of which +were passed on Cape Shanck, watching between the clouds for observations. +This cape is a narrow projection of calcareous formation, rendered +remarkable by a pulpit-shaped rock lying close off it. About a mile to +the north is a hill 190 feet high, which has been selected for the site +of a lighthouse for showing vessels their position off the entrance of +Port Phillip. Being so distant, however, it is of more service for Port +Western. + +From Dr. Barker I received some curious information respecting the +Aborigines. It appears that there is great hostility between the Port +Phillip and Gipps' Land natives, who occasionally visit each other's +territory for the purposes of war. So great is the feeling of enmity +between them, that they will frequently take a piece of the flesh of +their foes and pass it through the skin of their thighs or arms, where +they leave it until it withers. + +SOUTH CHANNEL. + +Returning to the ship we placed a buoy* on the five-fathom bar at the +eastern entrance of the South Channel, the bearings from which are Whale +Head South 33 degrees West, and Arthur's Seat South 79 degrees East; +Points Nepean and Lonsdale being a little open. Passing through this +channel,** we spent an afternoon within the heads for the purpose of +visiting the lighthouse just built on Shortland's Bluff.*** This I found +to be 108 feet high; the lantern, to contain a fixed light, had not been +established. The position of this light being so far within the entrance +it is only visible between South-West 1/2 West, and South 1/4 West; and a +light placed at the extremity of the rocky ledge off Point Nepean would +be of infinitely more service in showing vessels the entrance of the +port. + +(*Footnote. Another buoy at the east extremity of the bank on the north +side of the channel, which is very steep to, and one at the west end of +the bank on the south side, would render the navigation free from +difficulty, as the banks on either side can be readily made out.) + +(**Footnote. The directions for entering by this line-of-battle ship +channel are as follows. After passing Point Nepean steer for Arthur's +Seat, keeping Point Flinders open south of Lonsdale Point until the last +cliffy projection is passed and bears South 1/4 West. Then steer half a +point to the left of Arthur's Seat, shutting in Point Flinders with Point +Nepean, and keeping Point Lonsdale a little open of the latter. The buoy +at the eastern entrance will now soon be made out, and should be kept in +line with Arthur's Seat. Pass on the north side of the buoy and then haul +up South-East until the water shoals to five fathoms, or until Whale Head +bears South-West by West; then steer North-East by East for Mount Martha, +the next hill north of Arthur's Seat, until the latter bears South-East, +when a course may be shaped for Hobson's Bay.) + +(***Footnote. The patch of dark bushes, breaking the sand beach to the +northward, and forming one of the leading marks in, had been so thinned +that it was very indistinct. Mr. LaTrobe, however, was going to remedy +this evil by erecting a beacon on that spot.) + +Whilst we were at Port Phillip this time, a schooner left in a somewhat +mysterious manner, on board of which was the Honourable Mr. Murray, who +fell afterwards in a conflict with the pirates at Borneo. The particulars +of this gallant affair must be fresh in the recollection of my readers. + +TIDES AT PORT PHILLIP. + +Leaving Port Phillip,* we returned to Port Western to pick up the party +we had left there. Mr. Fitzmaurice found Cape Patterson, of which I have +before spoken, to lie fourteen miles South-West by West 1/2 West from the +eastern entrance of Port Western,** and twenty-one miles North 55 degrees +West from Cape Liptrap, the next headland to the eastward. + +(*Footnote. The result of the tidal observations made at Shortland's +Bluff, gives 12 hours 20 minutes for the time of high-water on the full +and change days. The simultaneous ones made in other parts of this great +sheet of water during our stay, gave the times of high-water later as +follows: + +At William Town: 1 hour 0 minutes. +Under Arthur's Seat: 1 hour 45 minutes. +At Corio Harbour: 2 hours 30 minutes. + +At the entrance of Port Phillip the rise at springs is only three feet +and a half, when the stream makes in at 2 hours 0 minutes. It also +continues to run out from one to two hours after the water begins to rise +by the shore. The outward and inward streams differ considerably; the +latter being from 5 to 5 1/2 hours' duration, whereas the former is from +6 to 6 1/2 and 7. The outward stream between the heads sometimes attains +a strength of nearly 7 knots, and when opposed to a southerly gale, +causes a sea dangerous to small craft; these gales heap the water up in +all parts of the bay, particularly at William Town in the northern +corner. On such occasions there is scarcely any fall of tide perceptible +near the entrance; the outward stream is then also much weaker. In the +West Channel the flood and ebb-streams have a velocity of from 1 to 2 1/2 +knots; but in the south it seldom exceeds two. Above the banks or in the +inlet leading to Corio harbour there is scarcely any stream of tide +perceptible; but through the channel over the bar at the latter the flood +runs nearly three quarters of a knot. Outside the entrance the ebb sets +between South by East and South-South-West for seven miles, when its +strength is weakened to about a knot; from thence it trends more westerly +towards the mouth of the Strait.) + +CAPE PATTERSON. + +Five and seven miles to the westward of Cape Patterson there are two +rivulets, near the former of which an inferior kind of coal crops out; it +occurs in beds of the carboniferous series. Between the two headlands +above mentioned the shore falls back, forming a bight six miles deep, at +the head of which is Anderson's Inlet, six miles in extent, full of mud +banks, and available for boats only. A river, called Toluncan by the +natives, empties itself into the head of it. + +(*Footnote. The observations on the tides at this place make the time of +high-water at the full and change days 1 hour 10 minutes, when the rise +is 8 feet. The stream in the main channel runs upwards of 2 knots, and +off the North-East end of Grant Island it makes to the eastward about two +hours before the time of high-water; this difference is to be attributed +to the flood entering round both ends of the island.) + +From Port Western we carried a line of soundings across the Strait to +Circular Head,* the greatest depth midway between being 40 fathoms. Here, +according to arrangement, we met the Vansittart. Bad weather had +prevented Mr. Forsyth from completing the work allotted the cutter. We +found the management of the Van Diemen's Land Agricultural Company in the +hands of Mr. Gibson, from whom we received great attention. The new +system of letting lands, recently adopted by this Company, was working +well; and it certainly appeared to be a very fair mode of getting their +lands occupied. + +DIRECTIONS FOR THE WESTERN ENTRANCE OF BASS STRAIT. + +(*Footnote. My intention of getting some more soundings in the western +entrance of Bass Strait was frustrated; but as I have entered into detail +respecting the eastern entrance, I am induced to devote some space to a +few directions, which may aid in averting a repetition of such terrible +catastrophes as the late wreck of the Cataraqui on the western side of +King Island. The western entrance, formed by the islands off the +north-west point of Tasmania and the projection on the Australian +continent called Cape Otway, is 108 miles wide. King Island, lying nearly +midway, occupies 35 miles of this space, and leaves to the north of it a +passage of 47 miles in width, and to the south one of 37 miles. The +latter, however, is impeded by Reid's Rocks, the Conway and Bell sunken +rocks, with Albatross Island and the Black Pyramid; the tide also sets +across it at the rate of from one to three knots, as I have already +mentioned in the first volume; consequently, the entrance between King +Island and Cape Otway is much safer, the chief danger being the Harbinger +Rocks, two granite boulders, with deep water between, one lying North 74 +degrees West three miles and a half, and the other North 88 degrees West, +nearly four miles and a half from the north point of King Island, Cape +Wickham, which may be recognized by a round hill, 595 feet high, over it. +The southern Harbinger is a few feet only out of the water, and the other +scarcely awash. These, with the Navarin Rock, lying North 25 degrees +West, one mile and a half from the same cape, and the reef lying half a +mile off Cape Otway, constitute the sole dangers in this entrance. + +Masters of vessels should endeavour, if possible, to make the land in the +neighbourhood of Cape Otway; but if the weather be thick they may know +they are in the fairway of the Strait when they get into sixty fathoms, +fine grey sand; in the same depth, with a rocky bottom, ships will be to +the southward, and off the west side of King Island, which, as I have +before described, is a rocky dangerous coast. There is a doubtful +position of a sunken rock, ten miles West 1/2 North of the south point, +which is low and rocky, and in latitude 40 degrees 10 minutes South, +longitude 143 degrees 58 minutes East; whilst Cape Wickham is in latitude +39 degrees 35 minutes South, longitude 143 degrees 59 1/2 minutes, East; +and Cape Otway in latitude 38 degrees 51 minutes South, longitude 143 +degrees 35 1/2 minutes East of Greenwich, considering Sydney, to which +these longitudes refer, to be in 151 degrees 16 minutes East. + +Various opinions have been expressed as to the best position for a +lighthouse at this entrance of the Strait, some recommending Cape +Wickham; others, Cape Otway. I, however, hold to the latter, for this +simple reason, that it will avoid bringing ships in the neighbourhood of +the Harbinger Rocks and the western side of King Island. If a light were +erected on Cape Wickham, and a vessel running for it should be to the +southward of her position, she would risk sharing the fate of the +Cataraqui,* unless more caution were used than is generally the case, I +regret to say, in merchant vessels. Whereas, if the light were on Cape +Otway, a ship to the southward of her position would have the Strait open +to run through, and to the northward, would discover her error, by +falling in with the land. The lead, also, would inform the master that +his ship was near it, there being 30 fathoms ten miles from the land +thirty-five miles to the westward of Cape Otway; the trend of the coast +besides is too westerly to make it a lee shore. + +(*Footnote. In consequence of a letter of mine that appeared in the +Times, the owners of the Cataraqui have communicated with me, stating +that they have reason to believe the Beagle's chart of Bass Strait was +among those with which the ship was furnished, and that with regard to +leads and lines she was well supplied.) + +From the middle of the entrance between Cape Wickham and Cape Otway, in +57 fathoms, fine grey sand, and in latitude 39 degrees 13 minutes South, +longitude 143 degrees 48 minutes East, the course to the entrance of Port +Phillip, is North-East 1/2 North seventy miles; the soundings will be +found, at first, to decrease rapidly, and in the parallel of Cape Otway +the depth will be 47 fathoms, fine sand and shells. Further particulars +respecting the quality of the bottom off this part of the coast will be +found in the first volume. + +A South-East 1/2 East course 176 miles, from the same position, will take +a ship to Port Dalrymple. In the first twenty-nine miles of this +distance, the soundings will have decreased to nearly 30 fathoms, and the +ship's place should be then abreast of the North-East end of King Island, +distant ten miles. The sight of this and, further on, of the Hunter +Group, which should be passed at a distance of 20 miles to the +South-West, will show if the right allowance has been made for the set of +the tides. In the courses given in this note, the tidal influence has not +been noticed; but I have above noticed the direction of the streams, and +the allowance to be made will of course depend on what stream the ship +enters or leaves the Strait with. + +Again, from the same position, an east course, 136 miles, will place a +ship four miles to the south of the Curtis Isles. The soundings will be +found to decrease to 40 fathoms thirty miles to the eastward of King +Island, and will continue within a fathom or two of that depth for the +remainder of the distance. + +Two hundred and four miles from the above position, on a North-East 1/4 +East course, will take a ship to abreast of Cape Howe, distant twenty +miles; passing midway between Hogan and Kent Groups, distant nearly nine +miles from each, at which time twenty-eight miles will have been run on +the above course. In passing the latter group, attention should be paid +to the set of the tides; as with the flood-stream and a northerly wind +vessels may be obliged to pass on the south side of it. Cape Howe bears +from Kent Group, North 36 degrees East, 170 miles. When a ship gets into +30 fathoms she will be within 8 miles of the North-East side of these +islands; and on the opposite she will have that depth half the distance +off. + +It only now remains to notice the tides in the passage north of King +Island. It is high-water on the full and change days at 1 o'clock; the +stream begins to set to the South-West three hours and a half before +high-water, running with a velocity of from 1 to 2 knots; past the +Harbinger Rocks, however, it sweeps round to the South-South-West, +sometimes at the rate of nearly two knots and a half. + +Having alluded to the entrance south of King Island in an earlier part of +the work, and as it is a passage I do not recommend, I shall not here +enter into many details respecting it, further than to say that if a ship +is obliged to enter Bass Strait by that entrance, she should keep to the +southward of Reid's Rocks, passing close to the Black Pyramid, a dark +rocky lump, 240 feet high, in latitude 40 degrees 28 minutes South, +longitude 144 degrees 18 1/2 minutes East. This should be made bearing +North-East 3/4 East, which would keep ships clear of the Conway and Bell +sunken rocks, the former and outermost of which lies fifteen miles North +83 degrees West from it. The cross set of the tides should be +particularly borne in mind, and likewise their strength, which is +sometimes 3 knots. The stream to the South-West by South begins at 3 P.M. +on the full and change days, or three hours and a half before high-water. +The depth in the south entrance varies from 35 to 38 fathoms. + +I shall perhaps make this note more useful by stating that January and +February are the best months for making a passage to the westward through +Bass Strait; although easterly winds blow on some rare occasions at other +times, but these are mostly gales, and generally terminate in a breeze +from the opposite quarter, having much the character of a rotatory gale, +one of which I have described in an early part of the work. The gales +that chiefly prevail in this Strait begin at North-North-West, and +gradually draw round by West to South-West, at which point they subside; +but if the wind, before it has so much southing, veer again to the +northward of west--or backs, as it is expressed--the gale will continue; +but its duration may be told by the barometer, as it is seldom fine when +it registers less than 29.95, and bad weather is certain if it falls to +29.70. + +N.B. The courses recommended in this note are marked in the chart +accompanying the work.) + +Our anchorage this time was on the south side of the singular natural +fortification I have before described; and whilst there we were placed in +some anxiety by being caught in a gale from the eastward. The +holding-ground, however, being very good, and a strong outset sweeping +out of the bay round the south side of the head, lessened the strain on +the cables. The sudden appearance of this breeze, and the manner in which +it was succeeded by another from the westward, afforded additional +evidence of how necessary it is for anchorages in this strait to be +sheltered from both quarters. A jetty, which has been run out by the +Company, forms available shelter at high-water for vessels of nine and +ten feet draught. + +On the 20th of January, having made a valuable set of tidal* and other +observations, and arranged with Mr. Forsyth to meet him at Hobart, we +sailed in the afternoon, and next morning passed half a mile from the +south side of the Pyramid, in 35 fathoms. It is a light-coloured mass, +worthy of its name, 300 feet high. From thence we steered towards Cape +Frankland, the North-West point of Flinders Island, which we had still to +examine, decreasing the soundings gradually to 26 fathoms within two +miles and a half to the West-North-West of it. We could see nothing of +the sunken rock said to lie two miles west from the above headland; yet, +as we have not exactly gone over the spot, it has been marked in the +chart with a p.d. against it. + +(*Footnote. The line of high-water at the full and change is 11 hours 40 +minutes, when the rise is 9 feet.) + +HUMMOCK ISLAND. + +I was also anxious to obtain a distant seaward view of Hummock Island,* +which affords the best shelter for ships in westerly winds. + +(*Footnote. This island, which affords a plentiful supply of fuel, is +between five and six miles long, and scarcely half a mile in width, with +a North by East trend. The anchorage lies abreast of the middle Hummock, +where the depth is six fathoms, and may be approached by passing round +either the north or south end of the island. Some low islets lie a mile +and a half off the latter, with a narrow passage between; and a reef +extends three quarters of a mile off the north point, which is in +latitude 40 degrees 1 minute South, longitude 3 degrees 27 minutes West +of Sydney, or 147 degrees 49 minutes East. It is distant three miles and +a half from the nearest point of Flinders, where is situated the +settlement of Tasmanian natives. A tide of from half to one knot sets +through between, and the flood-stream comes from the northward. The +outline of Hummock Island is so remarkable that it cannot fail of being +recognised. In thick weather the navigator may know he is approaching +this, and the other islands fronting the western side of Flinders, by +having a depth of less than thirty fathoms.) + +The north-west part of Flinders Island has a bold rugged outline. From +our position off Cape Frankland, we carried a line of soundings across +the passage south of Craggy Island, passing two miles to the eastward of +it in twenty-seven fathoms. We then ran out of the strait and up to +Sydney, to leave what stores were not absolutely required during the +passage to England, for the use of the ships on the station. + +RAILROADS FROM SYDNEY. + +Having spoken of the feasibility of railroads in other parts of New South +Wales, I cannot leave Sydney without suggesting what appear to me to be +the most practicable directions for lines leading from that capital. As +the country between Parramatta and Sydney is very hilly, I would +recommend that part of the journey should be performed in a steamer; and +that the railroad should commence on the right bank, about seven miles +from the town. An extension of this line would lead into the +north-western interior. Towards the south, and in the direction of the +Manero district, the line ought to pass round the head of Botany Bay, and +by following some of the valleys trending southwards, might reach nearly +to Illawarra, the garden of New South Wales. In this manner, the rich +Manero corn country, and the coalfields of Illawarra, might be brought +into connection with Sydney, and a prodigious development imparted to the +whole colony. + +MORETON BAY. + +I regretted being obliged to leave this part of Australia without +visiting Moreton Bay, as a survey of the mouth of the Brisbane River +would have enabled the settlers of that district, now rapidly increasing, +to have sent their produce direct from thence to England; whereas, until +a chart of it is published, masters of large ships do not like to go +there. The residents are in consequence obliged to submit to the expense +of first shipping their merchandise to Sydney. The Moreton Bay district +is perhaps one of the most fertile on the continent, combining the +advantages of great partial elevation and of proximity to the equator, so +that, within a comparatively short distance, the productions of both the +tropical and the temperate zones may be found. Corn grows on the high +plains; bananas, raisins, etc., on the lowlands; in short, as in Mexico, +the traveller finds, in ascending from the sea-coast to the summit of the +hills, almost the same successive gradations of climate as in passing +from the tropics towards the poles. + +FAREWELL TO SYDNEY. + +Our final arrangements were soon made; and on the 18th of February, the +Beagle was turning out between the heads.* I cannot for the last time bid +adieu to a place, which had become to us as it were a second home, +without once more alluding to the reception I had experienced from its +inhabitants. To enumerate any particular instances would be invidious; +space forbids me to pay due acknowledgments to all. In general, +therefore, I must say, that every attention which kindness and +hospitality could suggest, was paid to the officers of the Beagle, and a +debt of gratitude accumulated which it will be difficult to repay. + +(*Footnote. It is worthy of mention, that vessels working in against the +ebb-tide, should get close under the inner south head before making a +board across the entrance, as the stream sets round the north head a knot +an hour to the northward, but has a southerly direction from one to two +miles off.) + +Fresh easterly winds in the first instance, and light northerly ones +latterly, carried us rapidly to the southward, and towards midnight of +the 21st, we crossed the parallel of 39 degrees 31 minutes South,* +steering South by West 1/2 West. + +(*Footnote. In this latitude a shoal was reported to have been seen by a +vessel bound to Sydney, from Banks Strait, in 1838. The master of her +states, that he sounded on it in seven fathoms, and saw moored kelp +occupying the space of about half a mile. As this vessel's latitude, by +her run from Banks Strait, was twenty miles further south, we cannot +place much confidence in this report, in which it is stated, that when +Cape Barren bore West eight miles, they steered North-East for sixty +miles, when finding themselves, near noon, close to broken water, they +wore the vessel's head round to the southward, and sounded in seven +fathoms in kelp; the latitude by observation being 39 degrees 31 minutes +South. As it was blowing strong at the time from the North-West with a +high sea, and as there was only one cast of the lead taken, in the +confusion of wearing, it is possible they might have been deceived. The +kelp might have been adrift, and the sea, in that neighbourhood, often +breaks irregularly as if on foul ground. The position of this supposed +shoal, by the run from Banks Strait would be, latitude 39 degrees 51 +minutes South, longitude 149 degrees 40 minutes East; but as this gives a +difference of twenty miles in the latitude by observation, and as the +Beagle has crossed those parallels ten times between the meridians of 148 +degrees 4 minutes and 150 degrees 13 minutes, and, moreover, as the +position assigned this shoal lies so much in the track of vessels running +between Hobart and Sydney, there is every reason to doubt its existence.) + +EAST COAST OF TASMANIA. + +On the 23rd, we passed along the east coast of Tasmania, at the distance +of eight miles. The weather being fine and the water smooth, we had +frequent opportunities of testing the accuracy of the present chart, +which we found to be about three miles in error both in latitude and +longitude; the latter with respect to the meridian of Fort Mulgrave.* + +(*Footnote. Strange to say, the position assigned this place in the +chart, 147 degrees 28 minutes East is much in error with regard to +longitude, as Fort Mulgrave is 3 degrees 52 minutes 35 seconds West of +Sydney, or 147 degrees 23 minutes 25 seconds East; this, with the error I +have already alluded to in the east coast of Tasmania, the most available +one for shipping, points out the necessity of having the survey of that +island completed.) + +JOURNEY TO LAUNCESTON. + +Next afternoon we entered the Derwent and anchored off Hobart. Finding +that his Excellency Sir John Franklin had just left for Launceston, I +proceeded thither to wait on him. Our stay in the Derwent depending on a +favourable change in the weather, it was necessary that we should be +always in readiness to leave, and accordingly I travelled by the fastest +conveyance, the mail-cart, a sort of gig drawn by one horse, which, +however, by means of frequent changes and good cattle, manages to average +nine miles an hour. It leaves Hobart, at half-past seven P.M., and +reaches Launceston a little before eleven the following morning. It was a +cold, bleak night; but as the road was excellent, and I was well muffled +up, with my feet in a bag, the time passed cheerily. The general topic of +conversation during the journey was about some three desperate +bushrangers,* who appeared to keep all the innkeepers in dread of a +visit. At one place we stopped at, the host came up with a rueful +countenance, and told us that it was only the previous night that he had +been stuck up, with a pistol at his head, while they took what they +wanted from his larder. + +(*Footnote. The most notorious of these characters was one Michael Howe, +who became a bushranger in 1812. In 1817 he separated from his party, +taking with him a native girl, whom he shot when hotly pursued, because +he imagined she might occasion delay. He twice surrendered on condition +that his life should be spared; but soon resumed his predatory habits. In +1818 he was killed by three men who had planned his capture; having been +nearly seven years in the bush, part of the time entirely alone. He +committed several murders, and robberies innumerable. His head was +conveyed to Hobart. In his knapsack was found a sort of journal of his +dreams written with blood, and strongly indicative of the horrors of his +mind.) + +The first half of the journey was over a rather hilly and gradually +rising country; the road then winds through almost one continued vale, +bounded on either side by broken ranges of mountains. The noble Ben +Lomond appears quite close on the right as you approach Launceston. I was +much pleased with the comfortable inns on this line of road, the greater +part of which is as smooth as a gravel walk. + +RAILROADS IN TASMANIA. + +I could not avoid, during this journey, being forcibly struck with the +great facilities afforded by the road from Hobart to Launceston for a +railway; and I have since heard and seen enough to convince me, that not +only would such an undertaking be practicable, but that it would greatly +conduce to the prosperity of Tasmania. At present, most of the +productions of the northern part of the island are necessarily, on +account of the expense of land-carriage, shipped at Launceston or Port +Dalrymple, whereas the Derwent affords such superior facilities for the +purposes of commerce, that if a means of cheap and rapid intercourse with +it existed, nearly the whole export and import traffic of the coasts +would be drawn thither. I have already observed that large vessels at +Launceston cannot discharge alongside the wharfs. Besides, on the whole +of the northern coast, with the exception of the Hunter Islands, there is +no place of safety for a ship in all winds that a stranger would like to +run into, the mouth of the Tamar being too much occupied with shoals. On +the other hand, Hobart lies on that part of the island which may be +approached with the greatest safety, being on a weather shore, whereas +the northern side is partly a lee one. In saying thus much, I do not mean +to imply that a private company, under ordinary circumstances, could +construct a line with immediate advantage to itself, though I will go so +far as to say, that in a very few years, comparatively, an ample +remunerative return might be expected. What I especially desire to insist +upon, is the fact, that a railroad traversing Tasmania from north to +south would be a great benefit to the community, would stimulate trade, +and consequently production, and would aid in restoring the prosperity +which it once enjoyed. + +LABOUR MARKET. + +This being granted, let us take into consideration the condition of the +labour market in that country, and observe what an opportunity now +presents itself of executing a work of prodigious magnitude at a +comparatively trifling cost. It will be seen at once that I allude to the +population of probationers, pass-holders, ticket-of-leave men, who now +compete with the free inhabitants, and cause the whole land to throng +with people in want of work, with paupers and with thieves. + +The great evil at present complained of by the settlers of Tasmania, is +the superabundance of labour. In most other colonies the contrary +complaint is made; and were it not for peculiar circumstances, the great +demand in one place would soon relieve the pressure in the other. But it +must be remembered, that the glut in the Tasmanian labour market is +produced by the presence of crowds of convicts, in various stages of +restraint, all prevented from leaving the island, and forced to remain +and seek employment there; so that as soon as the demand for labour falls +off, or the supply of it becomes disproportionately large, it is the free +population that is necessarily displaced. + +The effect, therefore, of the gradual pouring of a superabundance of +convict labour into this island, must naturally be, first, to check free +immigration; and secondly, to drive away those who have actually +established themselves on it as their second home, and may perhaps have +abandoned comfort in England in hopes of affluence there. So great is the +number actually leaving the place every year, that it is calculated that +in six years, at the same ratio, there will be absolutely none left. + +COMMERCIAL DISTRESS. + +And yet, no further back than 1841, the Legislative Council voted 60,000 +pounds to encourage immigration, thus needlessly taxing the colony to aid +in producing a disastrous result, which certainly, however, no one seems +to have foreseen. + +Who, indeed, four years ago, could have believed that, above all other +things, there should arrive a glut in the labour market? Such an event +was looked upon as absolutely impossible in the full tide of prosperity +that covered the island. Everything wore a smiling aspect. The fields +were heavy with harvests, the roads crowded with traffic; gay equipages +filled the streets; the settler's cottage or villa was well supplied with +comfort, and even with luxuries; crime, in a population of which the +majority were convicts or their descendants, was less in proportion than +in England; in short, for the first time, in 1840 the exports exceeded +the imports; trade was brisk, agriculture increasing, new settlers were +arriving; everything betokened progress; no one dreamed of retrogression +or decay. + +In four years all this has been reversed. We now look in vain for the +signs of prosperity that before existed. In their place, we hear of +complaints loud and deep; of insolvency, of reduction in the Government +expenditure; of a falling off of trade; of many beggars, where none +before were known; of large agricultural estates allowed partially to +return to their natural wildness; of cattle and all stock sold at half +their original cost, and of every symptom of agricultural and commercial +distress. I may further add, that the funds derived from the sale of +Crown lands in Tasmania in the year 1841, amounted to 58,000 pounds; in +1844, to 2000 pounds; and in 1845, to nothing. The revenue, in the same +time, has decreased one half; and, to close the financial account, at the +end of 1844 the colony was in debt to the Treasury, 100,000 pounds. + +REMARKS ON CONVICT DISCIPLINE. + +Though many other causes may have co-operated in producing this change, +it seems acknowledged by most persons, that the result is chiefly +traceable to the disproportionate increase of the convict population, +acting in the manner I have already described; and this is itself +encouragement to reconsider the system of 1842. But if, as some maintain, +this plan has inflicted serious evils, in a moral point of view, both on +the free population and on the convicts themselves, there is still +greater inducement to examine whether some better mode could not be +devised. + +I do not intend, however, to enter into the question of convict +discipline. It would be beside my purpose to do so; and want of space, +moreover, forbids it. But I cannot refrain from observing, that one +feature in the new plan--that of congregating criminals during one period +of their punishment in probation gangs, almost isolated from the free +settlers--seems productive of anything but good. Under the system of +assignment, whatever other objections there may have been to it, the +convict had at least an excellent chance of becoming a better man, +especially when drafted to a pastoral or agricultural district. Whereas, +now that the well-disposed and the irreclaimably bad are often brought +constantly together in the same class, it is much more difficult for them +to regain that self-command and those moral sentiments, the loss of which +brought them to their degraded position of prisoners. Having constantly +before their eyes the garb and stamp of their infamy, reformation, if not +impossible, is extremely difficult. Pass them on the highways at any +time; and, in obedience to an irresistible impulse, they will leave off +their work to look at you, and the comparison of your dress and +condition, with their own distinctive costume and forced occupation, +instead of awakening a spirit of hope and a determination to regain +freedom, induces melancholy and despair. A dogged and sullen silence soon +becomes the characteristic of these men; their features are stamped with +the worst passions of our nature; and in many cases despondency is +triumphant, and they make no proper or continued efforts to reclaim +themselves. + +Even when a probation pass has been obtained, it is grievous to reflect +that, in numerous instances, except in the single quality of industry, +not only has no improvement taken place in the character of the prisoner, +but that he has become more hardened and corrupt than when he left +England. The horrible scenes of depravity he has witnessed in the +barracks whence he has emerged, must have produced their natural effect +on his mind. I cannot help thinking that this system of concentration is +extremely impolitic. We all know what a detrimental influence the +associating of men, punished for an offence comparatively trifling, with +others convicted of the most flagrant outrages upon society, exerts upon +the former. The experience of our prisons testifies to the fact. Can it +be expected, then, that the same agglomeration of bad characters in +Tasmania should be harmless? I foretell that this part of the new system +will be shortly abandoned, and that at any rate the men will be provided +with separate cabins for sleeping berths. The granting the prisoners +occasional holidays of a week, would have a great effect in whetting +their desire to finally obtain their liberty; and a change or improvement +in their apparel, in proportion to their good conduct, would also be very +beneficial. + +In my opinion, however, the system of concentration is radically +defective. It supposes the existence in the breasts of criminals of a +principle of action, and a desire of improvement and of a change in their +condition sufficiently powerful to enable them to resist the temptations +to vice held out by habitual intercourse with the depraved. No doubt +there are individuals to be found, even among those who have incurred the +penalty of banishment from their native country, of firm character and +strong sympathy for virtue; but the majority must of course consist of +men almost incapable of resisting momentary impulses, of weak or +perverted understandings, of strong animal passions, naturally or from +habit averse to what is good, and prone to that which is bad. In such +cases association must inevitably be pernicious; and pardon can only be +obtained by comparative, not absolute reformation. By the dispersion of +convicts, under the assignment system or otherwise, the effects of evil +communication will be guarded against, and those of intercourse with the +virtuous and the honest substituted. + +I am not of course, as I have said, prepared here even to sketch a new +plan of convict discipline; but I think that the suggestion I have made +with reference to the employment of prisoners in the construction of +railroads, the capital to be supplied by a private company, would afford +a temporary relief to the labour market, whilst it would confer a lasting +benefit on the colony. During the diversion thus created, time would be +afforded for digesting a plan of convict discipline, which should be +consistent with economy, with a due regard to the interests of the +settlers, and with the moral improvement of the prisoners. + +LIGHTHOUSES IN BASS STRAIT. + +I would also suggest another mode of employing the probationers. They +might be dispersed through the islands in Bass Strait, and engaged in +constructing the lighthouses which are so much wanted there. Six years +ago his Excellency Sir John Franklin drew the attention of the Government +of New South Wales to the necessity existing for these lighthouses. On +this occasion a mass of evidence was given before the Legislative Council +as to which would be the most eligible sites; but up to this period only +two have been founded, both by the Tasmanian Government, one on the +Chappell Isles, another in Banks Strait. The important ones for the +eastern and western entrances of the Strait have been neglected, although +the fullest information was obtained on the subject. Opinions concur in +representing Kent Group as the best position for a light at the eastern +entrance, where certainly one is most required, the Strait being there so +much impeded with rocks and islands. I gave my opinion to this effect +before the Legislative Council, in September, 1842. At the same time, for +the western entrance, I recommended Cape Otway in preference to the north +end of King Island, for reasons already assigned.* The melancholy wrecks +that have of late occurred in Bass Strait will, it is to be hoped, direct +immediate attention to the construction of these lighthouses, and I think +that the collateral benefits to be derived from the dispersion of the +convicts ought to be given their due weight. The expense would, in +consequence of the ample supply of labour, be small; some of the islands +afford stone in abundance; and the convicts might raise part of their +food in the vicinity of the proposed buildings. I cannot but think that +this, in the end, will prove a lucrative undertaking for Government; as +on the number of vessels that pass, light-dues of about a penny a ton +might be levied. + +(*Footnote. The following is the Report of the Committee of the +Legislative Council of New South Wales, on lighthouses proposed to be +erected in Bass Strait: Your Committee have the honour to report, that +having been favoured with the attendance of Captain Stokes, of her +Majesty's ship Beagle, lately returned from a survey of Bass Strait, and +ascertained his ideas as to the best position for placing a lighthouse at +the western entrance thereof, they are induced to change their opinion as +set forth in their Report of the 1st September, 1841, and to coincide +with him in thinking that Cape Otway would be a better site for a +lighthouse than King Island, as being equally advantageous to the trade +at large, and much more so to that of Port Phillip. + +It would appear, too, that no danger could accrue to vessels endeavouring +to make the former, while much mischief might arise in trying to sight +the latter, should there be any error in their reckoning; and that it is +therefore desirable to keep them as far as possible to the northward of +King Island, instead of inducing them to risk the danger of approaching +it, to ascertain their true position. + +Captain Stokes perfectly coincides with the Committee, in the opinion +formerly expressed by them, that the eastern island of Kent Group, is the +best position for a light at the eastern entrance of Bass Strait; and +they beg leave respectfully to recommend to your Excellency and +honourable Council, that immediate steps may be taken for commencing so +desirable an undertaking as the erection of a lighthouse on that spot. + +(Signed) J. GIBBES, Chairman. Council Chamber, 6th September, 1842.) + +In another part of this work I have adverted to the desirability of +forming other convict establishments than those at present existing, +particularly on the north-west and north-east coasts; and I would +especially recommend the neighbourhood of Hanover Bay on the former, and +Halifax Bay on the latter.* By these means many hitherto untrodden lands +may speedily be adapted to the purposes of colonization, and reclaimed +from their present unprofitable state. In a country like Australia, where +the proportion of bad land predominates, it is almost necessary, in the +first instance, to force settlements by means of convict labour. A number +of buildings is always a cheering sight to a settler on his first +arrival, and gives him encouragement to exertion; whereas, if the country +wears its natural arid, desolate, uninviting appearance, dejection and +despondency ensue. + +(*Footnote. We have just learned that it is the intention of Government +to form a settlement of the kind mentioned in the text on the north-east +coast; and that the province is to be called North Australia, the +southern boundary of which is to be the 26th parallel. I have already +expressed my opinion, that convicts should not be sent to Port Essington, +as the proximity of the islands would afford them facilities of escape.) + +COMET. + +During our stay in the Derwent, perhaps one of the most splendid comets +that has ever appeared, illuminated the southern hemisphere for several +nights. We did not see it until the evening of the 5th of March; but it +was observed on the 2nd at Launceston; and by a ship at sea, off Cape +Leeuwin, on the 27th of February. Several observations were made with it, +when the nucleus, which was of a deep red colour, somewhat resembling the +planet Mars, was visible.* The length of the tail (on the 5th) measured +forty degrees; but was afterwards ten degrees longer. Towards its centre +it showed great intensity of light, becoming visible in the crepusculum +before stars of the second magnitude. Through its more attenuated +extremity, the stars were plainly seen, the coma seeming to be much less +dense, showing the sky through the centre like a dark line. + +(*Footnote. On the evening of the 5th its right ascension was found to be +about 0 hours 13 minutes 0 seconds, and declination about 13 degrees 0 +minutes South. The following evening it was observed to have had a motion +of above three degrees and a half in the direction of the constellation +Orion; the right ascension being 0 hours 26 minutes 0 seconds, and the +declination 12 degrees 50 minutes South. On the following night it was +found to have had a further motion in the same direction, and with much +the same velocity. Its position, shortly before setting, was as follows: +right ascension 0 hours 41 minutes 0 seconds, declination 12 degrees 30 +minutes South.) + +COLONIAL CORN. + +Whilst we were in the Derwent, a ship was loading with corn for England; +and I could not help regretting that, although grain from these colonies, +on account of its dry nature, is well adapted for a long voyage, the +heavy duty almost shut it out from the English market. It was impossible +not to feel, that justice as well as policy should have dictated the +admission of Australian wheat on the same terms as Canadian. The injury +inflicted by the exclusive system pursued, is, that less land is put +under cultivation, and fewer people are encouraged to go there; both the +colony and the mother country are sufferers thereby. + + +CHAPTER 2.14. AUSTRALIA TO ENGLAND. + +Sail from Tasmania. +The South-west Cape. +Monument to Flinders. +Rottnest Island. +Lighthouse. +Penal Establishment. +Longitude of Fremantle. +Final departure from Western Australia. +Rodrigue Island. +Effects of a hurricane at Mauritius. +The crew and passengers of a foundered vessel saved. +Bourbon. +Madagascar. +Simon's Bay. +Deep sea soundings. +Arrival in England. +Take leave of the Beagle. +The Surveying service. + +The barometer, which had been rising gradually within the last three +days, now standing at 30.20, showed that the opportunity of getting round +the South-West Cape, had at length arrived. We therefore left Sullivan +Cove on the morning of the 15th; and by the following midnight passed the +above-mentioned storm-beaten headland with a fine northerly wind. +Previous, however, to so doing, we had soundings in 84 fathoms, six miles +South-West of the Mew Stone. From the result of others we had obtained at +different times off the south coast of Tasmania, it appears that +soundings of a moderate depth extend out only a short distance, and that +a ship in 60 fathoms will be within ten miles of the land. + +MONUMENT TO FLINDERS. + +It had been my intention, on our passage to the westward, to have +examined the south and west sides of Kangaroo Island, with the rocks +lying off the former. I was also anxious to visit South Australia for +another meridian distance, those already obtained not being satisfactory, +I wished, moreover, to comply with Sir John Franklin's desire, that we +should set up a monument, dedicated to the memory of poor Flinders, which +he had sent to Port Lincoln, the centre of his honoured commander's most +important discoveries on the south coast of Australia.* The performance +of such a task would have constituted an appropriate conclusion to our +labours on the shores of this great continent; and certainly nothing +could have been more agreeable to our feelings than to be instrumental in +paying a tribute of respect to our distinguished predecessor in the +career of discovery. I shall always regret that we were prevented from +doing so. At the same time I must say, that it will reflect great +discredit on the colony of South Australia, if some portion of its wealth +be not devoted to the erection of a suitable monument to the memory of +Flinders in one of the squares of Adelaide. + +(*Footnote. Sir John Franklin was a midshipman with Captain Flinders when +he discovered this part of Australia.) + +Strong northerly winds prevented us, as I have above hinted, from closing +with the land, we consequently continued our course to the westward; and +on the twenty-third day arrived at King George's Sound, whence, after +completing our wooding and watering, we sailed on the morning of the 21st +of April. At noon we passed between Bald Head and Vancouver Reef.* + +(*Footnote. See plate.) + +ROTTNEST LIGHTHOUSE. + +In the forenoon of the 23rd we saw the lighthouse of Rottnest; and +regarded it with great interest, as the work of the aborigines imprisoned +on the island. I could not avoid indulging in melancholy reflections as I +gazed upon this building, erected by the hands of a people which seemed +destined to perish from the face of the earth without being able to leave +any durable monuments of their existence, except such fabrics as this, +constructed under the control of a conquering race. The time indeed, if +we may judge from past experience, seems not far distant when the +stranger, on approaching the shores of Western Australia, and asking who +erected that lighthouse to guide him in safety to the shore, will be told +it was the work of a people that once were and are now no longer. + +Passing over the foul ground extending off the Stragglers, we ran into +Owen's anchorage during the first watch. Whilst waiting to rate the +chronometers several soundings were added to our plan of this place, and +a three-fathom patch, about a quarter of a mile in extent, was +discovered, with nine on either side of it, lying nearly two miles and a +quarter North 39 degrees West from Fremantle gaol. + +PENAL ESTABLISHMENT. + +We also visited Rottnest to inspect the establishment. It had now been a +penal settlement for four years; besides erecting the buildings, the +aboriginal labourers had cleared thirty-four acres of land, chiefly in +detached valleys. These grew thirty-five bushels of wheat to the acre (in +the Port Phillip district the return is about five more to the acre) and +from thirty-four to forty bushels of barley. There are about two thousand +acres of available land in the whole island. The average number of native +convicts is about seventeen, and the expense of the whole establishment +to Government is about 200 pounds per annum; but, under the good +management of superintendent Vincent, it has realized 1500 pounds by the +sale of corn and salt, and allowing for the value of the buildings +erected. + +His Excellency Governor Hutt had done a great deal for the improvement of +the natives; the schools established for their instruction work +exceedingly well; and I am happy to see that a most important step +towards civilizing them has since been made, a white having taken a +native woman as his wife. This may be regarded as in a great measure the +result of the notice bestowed on them. + +No opportunity occurred during our stay of adding to the observations I +had previously made for the longitude of Fremantle (Scott's Jetty); +which, however, is the only part of the continent absolutely determined +during the Beagle's voyage. It is considered to be in longitude 115 +degrees 47 minutes 50 seconds East. + +Before leaving we received a letter of thanks from his Excellency and the +members of the Legislative Council for the services we had rendered the +colony. My friend Lieutenant Roe presented me, also, with two specimens +of the Spined Lizard Moloch horridus, which I intended to present to Her +Majesty; but, unfortunately, I did not succeed in bringing either of them +alive to England; one, however, lived beyond the Western Islands. + +DEPARTURE FROM WESTERN AUSTRALIA. + +We left Swan River on the evening of the 6th of May, 1843, running out +with a moderate North-East breeze. Everything seemed auspicious. The +water was smooth, and the sails, as they slept in the breeze, echoed back +the sounds of the well-known song, We are homeward bound, that was sung +with an earnestness that could not be mistaken. I fancied I could +discern, in the rough tones of the crew under my command, the existence +of the same emotions that swelled in my own breast at this moment. For +seamen, high and low, though content to pass the greater portion of their +lives upon the world of waters, can never entirely suppress that yearning +for home, which, perhaps, after all, is one of the finest traits in human +nature. And now that it might be legitimately indulged, I was not sorry +to see such strong evidences of its existence. + +Ere the last vestige of day had passed, the coast of Australia had faded +from our sight, though not from our memory; for, however much thoughts of +the land to which we were returning crowded on our minds, they could not +as yet entirely obliterate the recollection of that we were quitting. The +Swan River colony--its history, its state, its prospects--naturally +occupied much of our mind. What a change had come over it even since our +visit! From a happy little family, if I may use the expression, it had +grown into a populous colony, in which all the passions, the rivalries, +the loves and the hates of the mother country were in some sort +represented. And yet there remained still much of that old English +hospitality, which rendered our first stay so pleasant, and which almost +made us desire to prolong our last. The alteration that had taken place +was rather to be referred to the increasing number of settlers, which +rendered inevitable the formation of circles more or less exclusive, and +which, with the forms of European society, promised to introduce many of +its defects. + +But our thoughts wandered, from time to time, over the whole of this +extraordinary continent, which we saw for the first time in November +1837, at the point from which we took our departure, in May, 1843. The +strange contrasts to the rest of the world which it affords were +enumerated and commented upon--its cherries with their stones growing +outside--its trees, which shed their bark instead of their leaves--its +strange animals--its still stranger population--its mushroom cities--and, +finally, the fact that the approach to human habitations is not announced +by the barking of dogs, but by the barking of trees!* + +(*Footnote. The trees in the vicinity of houses are generally barked to +obtain a covering for the roofs.) + +Westerly winds carried us into the South-East trade by the 13th, in +latitude 22 degrees 30 minutes South four hundred miles from the +North-west Cape, when our course was directed for the Mauritius. We found +the trade very squally, and on one or two occasions managed to screw as +much as eleven knots out of the old craft. + +RODRIGUE ISLAND. + +A little after noon on the 27th we saw Rodrigue Island sooner than we +expected, in consequence of our finding it placed seven miles to the +westward of its true position, even with reference to the meridian of the +Mauritius. Our observations, in passing to southward, made the eastern +end of it 5 degrees 59 minutes East of Port Louis, and 63 degrees 31 3/4 +East of Greenwich, latitude 19 degrees 42 minutes South. I was rather +surprised to find this error in the position of Rodrigue, as it is quite +a finger-post for ships on their voyage from India to Great Britain. It +trends east and west for seventeen miles, and is in width about six. For +a volcanic island its features are not very remarkable; the highest part +is a peak or excrescence, 1700 feet high, rising towards the eastern end +out of a rather level ridge. + +On the morning of the 29th, the high land of the Mauritius was seen +breaking through the mass of clouds. Passing round the north end of the +island, in the evening we reached Port Louis, where we found a French +man-of-war that had just brought in the crew of a vessel foundered at +sea. Their escape had been one of the most remarkable on record. The ship +was from Liverpool, and was rounding the south-eastern point of Africa +with a strong north-west wind, when she sprang a leak, which increased so +fast, that the crew were ultimately obliged to abandon her and take to +the boats. The sea was so great that they were compelled to run before +the wind, with the prospect only of prolonging their lives for a brief +space, no land lying in that direction. + +PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPE. + +Providentially, the morning following they found themselves alongside a +French frigate; but the boats were so low in the water that for some time +they escaped observation, and were nearly passed. At length, by waving a +lady's shawl in the air, they attracted the attention of the Frenchmen, +and were taken on board, and treated with an attentive kindness, which +entitled their preservers to the thanks of all who would wish to be so +received under such circumstances. I regret that the name of the captain +of the ship has escaped me; though I remember it being said, that he had +himself been saved on a previous occasion by a Liverpool ship in the +China Sea. + +Not long before the arrival of the Beagle in Port Louis, a fleet of +crippled vessels, the victims of a recent hurricane, might have been seen +making their way into the harbour, some dismasted, others kept afloat +with difficulty, firing guns of distress, or giving other signs of their +helpless condition. The monotony of colonial life was suddenly disturbed, +by no means disagreeably to some, as the telegraph told off a succession +of lame ducks, as they were jocularly called, such as seldom or ever had +been witnessed, even at that place. It required but a visit to the bell +buoy, to see at a glance the destructive effects of the storm on the +unfortunate ships. + +EFFECTS OF HURRICANE AT MAURITIUS. + +On the tranquil surface of the harbour lay a group of shattered vessels, +presenting the appearance of floating wrecks. In almost all, the +bulwarks, boats, and everything on deck had been swept away; some, that +were towed in, had lost all their masts, others more or less of their +spars; one had her poop and all its cabins swept away; many had four or +five feet water in the hold, and the clank of the pumps was still kept up +by the weary crew. + +Such was the description given me of the circumstances under which the +crowd of vessels that lay at anchor in Port Louis had arrived. I had +anticipated that I should here be enabled to make some important +additions to the notices of hurricanes that have occasionally appeared in +this work; and certainly ample opportunity now presented itself. But I +found that this interesting subject was in more able hands, those, +namely, of Mr. Alexander Thom, of H.M. 86th Regiment, whose valuable +observations have been laid before the public, in a work called, An +Inquiry into the Nature and Course of Storms; a volume that embraces many +important considerations for seamen, to whom, indeed, and to the +ship-owner, Mr. Thom, by his scientific investigations, has proved +himself a true friend. + +It is curious that military men should have been the first to study the +causes of hurricanes, and to tell sailors how to avoid their effects; but +that such is the case, the works of Colonel Reid and of my friend Mr. +Thom will testify. + +I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of the latter gentleman in +Port Louis. What he considered to be the grand sources of rotatory +storms--winds charged with opposite kinds of electricity and blowing in +opposite directions--appeared to account satisfactorily for the +occurrence of hurricanes in the Pacific, where there are no continents or +chains of mountains to produce them and guide their courses. + +As so much has been already written about this interesting island, the +Mauritius, and as, moreover, space forbids, I do not here make use of the +mass of information with which Mr. Thom has kindly furnished me, +respecting its history and resources, and the subject of Coolie labour; +but on some future occasion I may be able to lay it before the public. + +During my stay at Port Louis I received much hospitality, particularly +from the family of Colonel Staveley, Commander of the Forces, which I +take this opportunity of acknowledging. + +We sailed from the Mauritius on the 10th of June, and on the following +day passed about 20 miles south-east of the Island of Bourbon. It +resembles a large cone emerging from the water; and its features are +strikingly different from those of the Mauritius; the outline is not +softened by luxuriant vegetation, but is sudden and steep and massive. + +MADAGASCAR. + +Southerly and westerly winds brought us in sight of Madagascar on the +16th, and on the same evening, aided by a southerly current of 2 knots an +hour, we were just able to weather its South-East extreme. The features +of this great island that were presented to our view approached the +Alpine, and from a passing glimpse of the small hills near the shore, it +appeared to be a fertile country. This portion of the globe is one of +great interest to the world at large, especially when we know that, if +considered as a naval or military station, it is scarcely equalled by any +in the Indian Ocean; besides having a soil of the best description, and +abounding also in mineral wealth, with timber fit for any purposes, and +thousands of cattle running wild in its valleys. On the afternoon of the +27th we were within seven or eight miles of the land, near the great Fish +River, on the south-eastern coast of Africa, having apparently got within +the eddy of the westerly current, which sweeps round that part of the +coast at the distance of thirty miles with a velocity of from two to five +miles an hour, which we entirely lost after passing Algoa Bay. Within +thirty miles of the latter place we had a strong gale from the southward +of twenty-four hours duration; and on the morning of the 1st of July +arrived at Simon's Bay, in company with Her Majesty's ship Belleisle, +which sailed two days before us from the Mauritius. Nearly six years had +elapsed since our last visit, and little improvement had taken place in +colonial affairs. + +(*Footnote. The little difficulty that strangers found in recognizing +this anchorage at night, is now overcome by a light-vessel being placed +near the Roman Rocks; but the streaks of sand, resembling snow, down the +sides of the hills over Simons Bay, and the remarkable break in the high +land over another bay, just to the northward, are sufficient guides of +themselves in clear weather.) + +On the 9th we were again on our way homeward. Touching at St. Helena* and +Ascension, we crossed the equator on the forenoon of the 15th, in +longitude 19 degrees 45 minutes West, where we endeavoured to obtain +soundings with 2000 fathoms of line, which parted at 1600 fathoms. +Respecting deep-sea soundings, there are some sceptical persons who, in +consequence of the bottom not being brought up from the great depths +reported to have been found, are inclined to doubt that soundings were +actually obtained on those occasions. + +(*Footnote. This place is famed for its large flying-fish, of which some +are from 18 to 24 inches in length: and not a little so, for those +monsters of the finny tribe called sharks. In the Admiralty book of +directions, the fact is related of an artillery-man being found fully +accoutred in the stomach of one taken there.) + +ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND. + +On the 24th a continuation of westerly winds* brought us in sight of St. +Jago and Bravo, of the Cape de Verd Group; on passing which we got the +North-East trade, and, after staying a part of the 10th and 11th at +Fayal, where we met Her Majesty's Steamer Styx, Captain Vidal, who, on +parting, gave us three hearty farewell cheers, we did not, in consequence +of easterly winds, arrive at Spithead until the 30th day of September, +after an absence of upwards of six years. During this period we only lost +two men, and preserved throughout almost the same spars** and boats,*** +we left Plymouth with in 1831. From Portsmouth we proceeded round to +Woolwich, where the ship was paid off on the 18th of October, 1843. + +(*Footnote. Ships availing themselves of these winds, when, also, the +westerly current ceases near the equator, might, by running away to the +eastward in them, shorten the passage to either Ascension or St. Helena.) + +(**Footnote. I have already mentioned that the Beagle was fitted with Mr. +Snow Harris's lightning conductors; the fact mentioned in the text is +ample proof that they do not weaken even the smallest spars.) + +(***Footnote. It is in justice due to say, that the boats were chiefly +built by Mr. Johns, of Plymouth Dockyard.) + +TAKE LEAVE OF THE BEAGLE. + +After giving the men their certificates, I loitered a short time to +indulge in those feelings that naturally arose on taking a final leave of +the poor old Beagle at the same place where I first joined her in 1825. +Many events have occurred since my first trip to sea in her: I have seen +her under every variety of circumstances, placed in peculiar situations +and fearful positions, from nearly the antarctic to the tropic, cooled by +the frigid clime of the extreme of South America, or parched by the heats +of North Australia; under every vicissitude, from the grave to the gay, I +have struggled along with her; and after wandering together for eighteen +years, a fact unprecedented in the service, I naturally parted from her +with regret. Her movements, latterly, have been anxiously watched, and +the chances are that her ribs will separate, and that she will perish in +the river* where she was first put together. She has made herself as +notorious as during the war did her namesake, that reaped golden opinions +from her success in prize-making; while my old friend has extensively +contributed to our geographical knowledge. + +(*Footnote. The Beagle, now employed in the Preventive Service, is moored +in Crouch Creek, near South End.) + +THE SURVEYING SERVICE. CONCLUSION. + +There was only one drawback to the pleasure I experienced on arriving in +England--namely, that Lieutenant G. Gore did not obtain his promotion, +but was compelled to seek it by a second voyage to the North Pole. All +the mates were, in the course of a short time, promoted, and the ship's +company received the favour of having half of their slop bill deducted, +an indulgence which the Lords of the Admiralty, from the kindest and most +considerate motives, have in some instances bestowed upon the crews of +surveying vessels, on their return from distant voyages. This boon, +however, in some instances, operates unfairly. In the first place, it +often happens, in spite of the strictest surveillance, that the worst +characters will, if they can, take up the greatest quantity of slops, +which they convert either into money or grog, whenever an opportunity +presents itself. The really steady men generally look clean and neat as +long as possible, without much assistance from the purser. Then again, +the boats' crews of all surveying vessels are necessarily so much more +exposed, that they not only the sooner wear out their ordinary clothing, +but absolutely require additional comforts in that way. I am therefore +strongly of opinion that, in this department (and I speak from +experience) the Captain should be allowed a certain portion of slops, to +be placed at his disposal, and distributed under his sole authority; or +might not he be enabled to recommend a certain number of the best men for +a small increase upon their regular pay? This judicious exercise of +discretion would be the means of retaining in this important branch of +the service, a class of men who would become most valuable to their +officers when engaged in the arduous and responsible duties of a survey. + +As in the Royal Engineers, a great deal of the superior talent of the +officers might be better bestowed, by abandoning to the petty officers +the rougher part of the surveying work, in which calculation is not +required. For this purpose, a kind of instruction might be imparted, +which that class of men, if encouraged by extra pay, is capable of +receiving, particularly those who have had the advantage of a Greenwich +education. + +To strengthen the suggestions I have made regarding the surveying +service, I cannot refrain from alluding--and I do so with honest +pride--both to the actions in China, and the very recent gallant +destruction of the Argentine batteries in the River Parana, as instances +of the importance of this branch of the profession in time of war. During +peace the new countries that are explored, and the new fields of commerce +that are opened to the world, will speak for themselves. + +... + + +APPENDIX. + +WINDS AND WEATHER ON THE WESTERN AND NORTHERN COASTS OF AUSTRALIA. + +BY COMMANDER J.C. WICKHAM, R.N. + +The winds on the western coast of Australia, are, for the most part, from +some southern point--chiefly between South-South-West and +South-South-East. + +During the summer, or from the early part of October to the beginning of +April, they are almost constant from this quarter; but in the winter +their regularity is broken in upon by occasional winds between north and +west that at times blow with great violence, and are accompanied by heavy +rain, and thick dirty weather. + +Near the shore, land and seabreezes appear to be regular, the former +generally dying away towards the middle of the day, after having reached +as far as East from about South-East at sunrise; then follows a short +interval of calm, after which, the seabreeze sets in, mostly at +South-South-West, and draws to the eastward of south in the evening. + +At times the land wind veers round the compass, and is then generally +stronger than usual; blowing fresh for a short time from North-East, and +bringing a parching heat from the land; upon these occasions the +seabreeze comes in from a more western point, and is lighter. + +At Swan River, in the months of December, January, and February, the +seabreezes are very strong, for intervals of from three to five days; +during which time they blow fresh throughout the night--drawing to the +southward after midnight, and towards sunrise to South-South-East and +South-East, but more moderate. In the middle of the day, they back again +to the southward, and soon to South-South-West, from which quarter they +blow very fresh until midnight. + +Intervals of such weather are from three to five days' duration, and are +followed by the like number of days of moderate weather, with winds +mostly off the land; sometimes strong gusts from the east, for a few +hours, with oppressively hot weather. + +I have noticed, that when the seabreeze sets in from a point to the +westward of South-West, it does not blow so strong, and generally lulls +at sunset; but if more southerly, or from South-South-West, it is a fiery +breeze, and often lasts until midnight. + +During the prevalence of these strong seabreezes, communication between +Gage Road and the shore is very inconvenient--particularly for laden +boats. + +In March, the seabreezes are not nearly so strong, but are generally +moderate, and not unfrequently bring in thick misty weather from +southwards, with drizzling rain. + +Generally speaking, when the seabreezes are the strongest, the land winds +are light, and vice versa. + +I cannot speak from experience of the winds or weather during the month +of April, at Swan River, but have been told that the seabreezes are +moderate, and the land winds of longer duration; calms are frequent--and +the weather altogether seems to indicate the breaking up of the summer +season; light winds are occasionally felt from the northward, with a +dull, gloomy appearance between that point and South-West. + +May is the month in which the winter weather fairly sets in, and it +rarely happens that the middle of this month passes without the rains +having commenced. This season seems to vary but little as to the time and +manner of setting in--it is ushered in by blowing weather, from about +North-North-East, the wind gradually veering round to the westward, as it +increases in strength. The first of this weather usually lasts from a +week to fourteen days; then comes an interval of fine weather, generally +of a fortnight's duration, and sometimes a month; after which the rains +set in more constant, and the intervals of fine weather are shorter; this +weather lasts until October, and at times throughout that month. + +During the intervals of fine weather the climate is delightful, and the +country has a fresh and pleasing appearance; land and seabreezes are as +regular as in summer, with the exception, that the latter are much more +moderate. + +The North-West gales that occasionally occur during the winter months, on +the southern parts of the west coast of Australia, are probably felt as +far north as Shark's Bay. They blow with great violence, and are +accompanied by dark, gloomy weather, and rain. It is then unsafe to be +near the land--as the gale that commences at North-North-East, invariably +veers to the westward, making a lee shore of the whole line of coast, and +between West-North-West and West-South-West blows the hardest. + +Fortunately these gales give ample warning; the barometer always +foretells their approach, and generally begins to fall three or four days +before the commencement of the gale--besides which, there are other +never-failing indications of a northerly wind, such as, the change of the +current, which (owing to the prevailing southerly winds) usually sets to +the northward, but runs strong to the southward during northerly +winds--frequently preceding them, and giving more timely notice than the +barometer. + +A rising of the water is likewise a certain prognostic of a northerly +wind; and has been invariably noticed, at Swan River, to precede all +gales from that quarter--this, of course, can only be observed while at +anchor on the coast. + +Another, and perhaps equally certain sign of approaching bad weather, +during the winter season (and which is almost certain to be from the +northward) is the strength of the North-East winds--as it has been +observed, that when the land winds blow strong, particularly from the +North-East and the seabreezes are light, with a falling barometer, a gale +from the northward will follow. Perhaps these latter remarks, are only +applicable to that distance from the shore, where a ship will be within +the influence of the land and seabreezes; but as I conceive the limit of +that distance to be full 30 miles off shore, a notice of such a symptom +of approaching bad weather, may not be altogether useless. I am of +opinion, that land winds are at times felt as far off shore as the edge +of soundings, which is not less than 30 miles, and generally between that +and 40. + +(In latitude 30 degrees 25 minutes South and 65 miles from the land, +soundings were got from the Beagle, with 185 fathoms of line, upon a +coral bottom. Between Swan River and Houtman's Abrolhos, soundings may be +had at a greater distance from the land, than off any other part of the +west coast.) + +The North-West gales are of longer duration, in the latitude of Swan +River, and south of that, than they are to the northward; they do not +appear to be entirely confined to the winter months, as I am told that a +very heavy one was experienced at Swan River, early in March, 1832, and +on the 13th December, 1839, the Beagle experienced a strong breeze from +the northward, while at anchor in Gage Road, in consequence of which, it +was considered necessary to let go an extra anchor. + +As it may be satisfactory to know more particularly the progress of these +gales, and the effect they have upon the barometer and sympiesometer, I +give the details of two that were experienced in H.M.S. Beagle, one at +Swan River, in the beginning of June 1838, the other at Houtman's +Abrolhos, in the beginning of May 1840; they may be taken as fair +criterions of the strength and duration of these gales, the latter having +been experienced, probably, within 5 degrees of their northern limit, and +the former near the southern extreme of the west coast. + +As our barometer had been broken in March 1838, the register of a +sympiesometer will be given in describing the gale of June in that year; +but as this instrument had been found (by comparison with the barometer) +to act exceedingly well, it will be sufficient for our purpose; the +GENERAL use of a marine barometer being merely that of a weather glass, +for which purpose a sympiesometer is equally good, and more sensitive. + +For the gale of 1840, the register of a barometer is shown, which, +although 0.2 too low, will serve to show the effect upon the mercury. + +At Swan River, on the 24th of May, 1838, the wind was strong and squally +from North-East by North; sympiesometer standing at 30.74. During the day +the oil commenced to fall, and continued falling slowly until the 30th, +when it was 30.16; during the greater part of this interval, the winds +were light, generally from some eastern point in the morning, and going +round the compass, by north and west, during the day; the nights were +mostly calm, a heavy bank of clouds was collecting between +North-North-East and South-West and the whole western horizon had a +gloomy appearance. On the evening of the 30th, the water had risen +considerably at the anchorage, and the stream ran to the southward; a +fresh breeze also set in from North-East and gradually veered to the +northward, as it increased in strength. On the 31st it blew hard all day, +between North-North-East and North-North-West, with dark squally weather, +much lightning in South-West and heavy rain, that continued all night. On +June the 1st, the gale was at its height, and at 8 A.M. (the +sympiesometer having fallen to 29.93) was blowing a hard gale, with heavy +squalls and rain, from North-West; towards noon the wind veered to west, +but still blew very hard; the sympiesometer now began to rise, and in the +evening the wind was West-South-West and had moderated considerably, the +weather was also clearer, although heavy clouds still hung on the western +horizon. + +The next morning (the 2nd) the sympiesometer had risen to 30.26; but this +was much too sudden a rise (0.33 in 24 hours) to allow us to suppose, +that the favourable change in the weather was to be of long continuance; +during the day the oil began to fall again, and the wind veered to West +and North-West and on the 3rd blew harder than ever, with heavy rain, +thunder, and lightning; and, with the exception of occasional intervals, +when the wind moderated, this weather continued until the 10th. The wind +during this time was variable, between North-North-West and +West-South-West, the sympiesometer between 29.81 and 30.16--falling with +the North-West winds, and rising as the wind veered to west and +West-South-West. + +This gale, which may be said to have been of ten days' continuance, +caused a very heavy sea upon the coast; the oldest residents at Swan +River said they had never experienced so heavy a sea before. On the 10th +the glass commenced to rise steadily, and the weather was fine, with +light variable winds, until the Beagle sailed (on the 20th). + +Owing to the security of Owen's anchorage, and the good quality of the +bottom, the Beagle rode out this bad weather, without causing the +slightest apprehension to anyone on board; but had a merchant vessel been +in Gage Road, in all probability, she would have added one more to the +list of wrecks, that have already done too much in prejudicing strangers +against the Swan River settlement. + +The gale of May, 1840, at Houtman's Abrolhos, commenced in a similar +manner with that already described, but being in a lower latitude, was of +shorter duration, and the indications did not precede it such a length of +time; still they were in every respect similar. + +This gale commenced on the 2nd of May, in the evening, and lasted until +the evening of the 4th. +on April the 29th, the barometer stood at 30.17 (having been some days +steadily high); it then commenced to fall, and on the evening of May the +2nd, was 29.86; during this interval we daily experienced strong +East-North-East and North-East winds; they generally commenced after +midnight, and lasted until noon; a bank of clouds was also collecting in +the North-West and there was occasional lightning in that quarter; the +early part of May the 2nd was nearly calm, and there was a heavy bank of +clouds between North and South-West. After noon a light breeze sprang up +from North-West which gradually freshened; and during the night the +barometer fell 17-hundredths. + +At sunrise on May the 3rd, there was a fresh breeze from North-North-West +and the weather had a very dull and gloomy appearance, the wind +increasing rapidly, and by noon it blew a heavy gale at West-North-West; +the barometer had fallen to 29.58, at which it continued until midnight, +when the wind drew to the southward of west, and the mercury began to +rise. The gale continued unabated, with squalls and rain, until noon of +the 4th, although the barometer had been rising since the previous +midnight; in the afternoon the wind moderated, and the weather became +fine. + +From this it would appear that the barometer gives ample warning of an +approaching North-West gale, as it had been falling nearly four days +before the commencement of the bad weather, this alone ought to be +sufficient to put a man upon his guard if near the shore. Between April +the 29th (the first day of the fresh north-easterly winds) and May the +3rd (when the gale was at its height, and the wind began to draw to the +southward of west) the mercury had fallen 6-tenths. The change of current +did not precede the wind, but changed with it; when the gale was strong +from North-West and West-North-West the current ran a knot an hour to the +South-East, and when the wind changed to South-West it ran with the same +velocity to the North-East. + +The west coast of New Holland is at times visited by sudden squalls, +resembling hurricanes. I was told by the master of an American whaler, +that in March 1839, when in company with several whalers off Sharks' Bay, +he experienced some very bad weather, which came on suddenly, without +having given any previous warning, but it was not of long continuance; +the gusts of wind were very violent, shifting suddenly to all points of +the compass. Some of the ships suffered considerable damage, in loss of +topmasts, etc. others in sails, but all more or less. I think the first +squall was from North-East off the land. + +The American whalers that resort to the west coast of Australia, are upon +different parts of it at all seasons of the year; their range is between +the parallel of 10 and 50 degrees of south latitude. In the summer they +fish to the southward, and at that season visit Swan River and King +George's Sound, for refreshments; but during the winter months they are +rarely to the southward of Sharks' Bay; numbers are to be met off the +North-West Cape. + +Between the parallels of 40 and 45 degrees they meet much bad weather, as +it is generally blowing strong with a heavy sea; but between 45 and 50 +degrees the weather is much more settled, and finer. November is said to +be generally the finest of the summer months, the winds are mostly +moderate, and the weather more settled than at other periods. + +Two gales that were experienced by the Beagle in November 1837, between +the islands of St. Paul and Amsterdam and Swan River, will serve to show +the different effects upon the barometer by gales from opposite quarters, +one being from North-West and the other from South-East. + +On November the 1st, the barometer stood at 29.90, having been gradually +rising for some days previous to that, and the wind had been fresh +between north and west. After 8 P.M. on the 1st, the mercury began to +fall, and on the 2nd, the wind was strong from +North-North-West--barometer falling all day. During the night it blew a +heavy gale, and the barometer fell to 29.34. On the morning of the 3rd +the wind veered to the westward, and the mercury began to rise, the +weather also became more moderate, and gradually fine. + +On the 8th of the same month, the barometer was 30.05 at 8 P.M. with fine +weather, wind South-East by East, it then commenced to fall, and at 8 +P.M. on the 9th was 29.80, and blowing a heavy gale at South-East, which +continued all night, and until 8 P.M. on the 10th, at which time it +became more moderate, and the barometer began to rise. + +What a different effect these gales had on the barometer; that from the +North-West causing the mercury to fall nearly 6-tenths, whereas, the +last, from South-East only lowered it 2-tenths, and 5-hundredths; they +were of equal strength and duration, and both accompanied by heavy rain. + +... + +ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST OF AUSTRALIA. + +The great extent of the North-West coast of Australia, lying as it does +between the parallels of 12 and 22 degrees of south latitude, no doubt +subjects it to a variety of winds and weather, that is not experienced on +the north coast; although, on that part of it north of the parallel of 15 +degrees, there is probably much similarity. + +As I cannot speak with certainty of the winds and weather that prevail on +this extent of coast, at all seasons of the year, the following remarks +will be confined to such portions of it as were visited by the Beagle, +and will apply only to the particular seasons in which she was employed +there. + +To the eastward of the meridian of 123 degrees east longitude, and at a +short distance from the land, the east and west monsoons will be found +regular; but the easterly monsoon is very light to the southward of 13 +degrees latitude. + +Between Clarence Straits and Cambridge Gulf, and during the months of +September, October, November, and December, the wind during the day is a +seabreeze between North-West and West. In September, and until the middle +of October, we found the wind as follows: About sunrise, a light breeze +sprang up from South-East or East which gradually drew to the northward +towards the middle of the day, in the afternoon, a seabreeze from +North-West or west, becoming light towards sunset, but freshening again +soon after that, and blowing a moderate and pleasant breeze between +North-West and South-West all night. + +During the latter part of the period (November and December) the winds +were more constantly from the West or West-North-West, blowing from that +quarter throughout the twenty-four hours, but much more moderate at night +than during the day; at full and change of the moon, the breezes were +much stronger than at other times, and upon one or two occasions, at the +time of the moon's quartering, there was a light breeze from South-East +in the morning. + +During the month of November, the ship was at anchor, twelve miles within +the entrance to Victoria River, and sixty-five from Point Pearce, on the +sea coast. For the first three weeks of this time, the seabreeze was +regular from North-West or West-North-West, generally setting in about +noon, and lasting the greater part of the night; in the mornings, and +until noon, it was mostly calm, or very light winds from the northward. +In the last week of this month the weather was very unsettled and +squally, with much thunder and lightning, and rain, the wind mostly +between South-East and North-East; after which, the westerly breezes set +in again, and continued until we left the coast in the middle of +December. + +During the whole of this period the westerly winds did not appear to come +from any distance, but to be merely local seabreezes, as they did not +cause any sea upon the coast, nor did they reach far in shore; as we +frequently observed smoke at no great distance from the coast, rising +perpendicularly, or influenced by a light south-easterly wind, and this +at times when the seabreeze was strong. From this it would appear, that +the westerly monsoon had not reached so far to the southward, nor did we +find, after sailing from Point Pearce, that the winds were at all steady +from the westward, until we had reached to the northward of Cape +Londonderry, which is in latitude 13 degrees 45 minutes South. To the +northward of this, the winds were from the westward, accompanied by fine +weather during the day to the southward of that point--sometimes as far +as South-West--and at night inclining to the northward of west, but +generally speaking, we found the wind to the southward of west, and the +current running from half a mile to a mile an hour to the North or +North-North-East. + +The currents between New Holland and Timor, are said to run to the +westward, during the easterly monsoon--and in the opposite direction with +the westerly; but they seem to be influenced by every trifling change of +wind--as on the 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd of December (when the westerly +monsoon might be supposed at its height) we experienced light, variable +winds, between South-East and East-North-East--during which period the +current ran to the westward--at times, a knot an hour. We were then +between the parallels of 11 1/2 and 13 degrees, south of which we +experienced winds between South-South-West and West until we were to the +southward of the North-West Cape, when they became more southerly, and at +times South-South-East (in January). Throughout all this period, the +weather was fine, and different from what was expected during the +westerly monsoon. + +All that part of the North-West coast of New Holland, between the +North-West Cape, and Cape Londonderry, appears to be very much subjected +to light winds, particularly during the easterly monsoon, the strength of +which is not felt to the southward of 13 or 14 degrees of south latitude. +During the westerly monsoon, strong winds and gales from the North-West +at times blow upon the coast, but they do not appear to be frequent. The +strongest winds at this season, are the heavy squalls between +East-South-East and North-East (and which may with propriety be termed +hurricane squalls); fortunately they are not of long duration, rarely +lasting over two hours. They give ample warning of their approach, by the +gathering of a heavy bank of clouds between North-East and South-East, +and much lightning in that quarter. Appearances such as these frequently +precede the squall some days, but coming gradually nearer (to the +westward). The barometer shows no indication of approaching bad weather, +being only acted upon by the immediate change; these squalls mostly occur +in the night, or between sunset and sunrise. + +During the latter part of the westerly monsoon, on that part of the coast +between Cape Villaret and Point Swan, we found the weather remarkably +fine, with the exception of an occasional short, but severe squall, from +the eastward. During the day there was generally a moderate seabreeze +between North-West and South-West commencing in the forenoon, and lasting +sometimes nearly until midnight--on which occasions it blew strongest +during the night); during the other part of the twenty-four hours the +wind was light from the eastward or calm. Captain King experienced +similar weather in August. + +It was not until we had reached Point Swan, in latitude 16 degrees 20 +minutes South that we experienced any of the bad weather that is usually +met with, at this season of the year, a few degrees to the northward; it +commenced in the last week of January, and continued until the middle of +February, during which period, there were some strong gales from the +westward, between North-West and South-West accompanied by heavy rain, +thunder and lightning; but although there was a good deal of dirty +weather, it was by no means constant, as there were occasional intervals +of fine weather, with moderate westerly winds. This was the only bad +weather on this part of the coast, during the season, that could be said +to be caused by the westerly monsoon, if we except the East-South-East +squalls, that do not occur in the easterly monsoon. + +While this weather lasted, the easterly squalls were quite suspended, and +the heavy bank of clouds that had generally been noticed in the +South-East had dispersed for the time; but after the strong westerly +winds had ceased, the weather was generally fine, and the wind mostly +from some western point; there were occasional showers, and the clouds in +the eastern horizon resumed their threatening appearance, bringing some +hard squalls, and rain from that quarter. In the middle of March (being +the time when equinoctial gales are looked for in most parts of the +world) there were two or three days of squally, unsettled weather, with +rain, that seemed to terminate the season of the westerly monsoon. After +the 1st of April, the weather was invariably fine, and the easterly +squalls had ceased to trouble us; land and seabreezes became regular, and +the easterly monsoon had no doubt set in to the northward; the strongest +breezes now were from South-East but, generally speaking, the winds were +very light near the land. + +It does not appear that the westerly monsoon blows with any degree of +regularity, to the southward of the 13th degree of south latitude; +although for some degrees south of that, the weather is influenced by it, +and winds between West-North-West and South-West will be experienced, and +from the appearances on many parts of the coast, there are no doubt +strong gales at times from the westward, that send in a very heavy sea. +During the easterly monsoon, the weather is fine on the North-West coast, +particularly in the months of May, June, July, and August; this is +undoubtedly the best time for visiting it; land and seabreezes are +regular, and the temperature is very agreeable. + +The average range of the thermometer on that part of the coast, between +the North-West Cape, and the meridian of 120 degrees east longitude, +during the above-mentioned period, was between 75 degrees in the middle +of the day, and 60 degrees at night, on board the ship, and the general +course of the wind as follows, viz. + +About sunrise, or sometimes a little before that, a breeze springs up +between South and South-South-East and draws to the eastward as the sun +rises, rapidly increasing in strength, and between 8 and 11 A.M. often +blows a fiery breeze; towards noon it moderates, and rarely lasts until 2 +P.M., after which there is a light breeze from North-East which at times +reaches to north; the nights are mostly calm, or a light breeze from the +south-westward; at the full and change of the moon, we found the +south-easterly winds stronger than at other times; dews at times very +copious. + +All this part of the coast is subject to the effects of mirage, by which +its outline is at times very much distorted, but generally speaking it +ceases with the strength of the breeze, and as the sun attains a little +altitude. When the effects of mirage was observed in the morning, I +noticed that the winds were much lighter throughout the day, than usual. + +During this part of the year, the atmosphere is clear, with a cloudless +sky, and the coast is exempted from the violent East-South-East squalls, +that are of frequent occurrence, while the sun is in the southern +hemisphere, and the land consequently very much heated. + +Towards the latter end of August, and in September, the winds are not +quite so regular, and there are occasional intervals of two or three days +of westerly winds. + +That part of the North-West coast between the North-West Cape, and the +116th degree of east longitude, seems to be subject to westerly winds at +all times of the year. The prevailing southerly winds that blow along the +west coast, appear to draw round the Cape, and follow the direction of +the land. Between April and October (when the easterly monsoon is blowing +to the northward) they are generally to the southward of west, or between +that point and South-West, but during the westerly monsoon between West +and North-West. + +Upon getting to the westward of the North-West Cape, the wind becomes +more southerly, and draws to the eastward of south as the distance from +the land increases, and will be found varying between South-South-East +and East-South-East, generally speaking as far south as the parallel of +30 degrees of south latitude, after which it is mostly to the westward of +south, so that ships making a passage to the southward, along the west +coast of New Holland, will rarely be able to make any easting, before +reaching that latitude, particularly during the summer months. In the +winter a ship may occasionally make a quick passage to the southward, if +happening to be upon the coast during a northerly gale; and as all these +gales are preceded by North-East winds, a sufficient offing may be gained +to enable her to run on, when the wind gets to the southward of west. + +... + +ON THE NORTH COAST OF AUSTRALIA. + +That part of the coast of New Holland from Cape York to Cape Van Diemen, +and extending as far south as the parallel of 12 degrees south latitude, +may be said to be within the limit of the east and west monsoons, as at a +short distance from the coast, these periodical winds will be found to +blow with great regularity. + +Near the land, the easterly monsoon sets in between the 1st and middle of +April, and the westerly monsoon in October, and sometimes not until +November. At a distance from the land they are probably more regular, as +the changes of the monsoons are said to take place about the first week +in April and October. + +In the month of July, we found the winds between Booby Island and Port +Essington, fresh from the eastward, veering at times to East-South-East +and occasionally to South-East but rarely to the northward of east. Close +to the land these winds are not so constant, but take more the character +of land and seabreezes, and the nights are mostly calm; this we found to +be the case during part of the months of July and August, while at anchor +in Port Essington. The general course of the winds during that period was +as follows. A little before sunrise, a breeze sprang up from South or +South-South-East which gradually became more easterly as the sun +approached the meridian; sometimes in the middle of the day, it was light +from the eastward, or calm, and at other times veered gradually to +North-East, from which quarter there came a fresh seabreeze every +afternoon; this breeze lasted until sunset, and at times later, but the +nights were always calm. + +We experienced similar winds between Melville Island and Port Essington, +but being a short distance from the land, the nights were not calm, +although the winds were very light. + +During the easterly monsoon, it is difficult to get to the eastward, as +at a few miles from the land the current is always running to the +westward, and runs strong past the projecting points; but by contriving +to be near the land at daylight, at which time the wind is always more +southerly, something may be gained. + +At Port Essington, the rainy season can scarcely be said to set in before +the middle of November; there is then, squally, dirty weather, with rain +from the westward and North-West, and at this season, there are at times +heavy squalls from South-East accompanied by rain, thunder, and +lightning. + +In 1838, the westerly monsoon set in at Port Essington, in the first week +in November; there had been no rain before that. + +THE END. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Discoveries in Australia, Volume 2 +by John Lort Stokes + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DISCOVERIES IN AUSTRALIA, VOLUME 2 *** + +***** This file should be named 12146.txt or 12146.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/1/4/12146/ + +Produced by Sue Asscher + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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