NATIVES SEEN.

Sunday December 17.

This morning directly after breakfast I read prayers to the men, and then commenced my preparations for the excursion on which I intended to start in the evening. Whilst I was occupied in arranging my papers Mr. Lushington observed two natives sitting on the rocks on the top of the cliffs which overlooked the valley, and gazing down intently on us. The instant that he made friendly signs to them they rose from their seats and began to retreat. Some of the party then called to them and one of the natives answered; but they still moved rapidly away. I would not allow them to be followed for fear of increasing their alarm, and in the hope that they would return, but was disappointed. It must have awakened strange feelings in the breast of these two savages, who could never before have seen civilized man, thus to have sat spectators and overlookers of the every action of such incomprehensible beings as we must have appeared; and the relation to their comrades of the wonders they had witnessed could not have been to them a whit less marvellous than the tales of the grey-headed Irish peasant, when he recounts the freaks of the fairies, “whose midnight revels by the forest side or fountain” he has watched intently from some shrub-clad hill.

Commencement of first excursion.

I started in the evening, accompanied by Corporal John Coles and Private R. Mustard, both of the corps of Royal Sappers and Miners, and for a short distance by two or three others of the party from the camp. We moved up the ravine in which we were encamped in a nearly due south direction, and after following this course about a mile turned up a branch ravine to the left, bearing 87 degrees from the north.

Character of the scenery. Geological phenomena.

The romantic scenery of this narrow glen could not be surpassed. Its width at bottom was not more than forty or fifty feet, on each side rose cliffs of sandstone between three and four hundred feet high and nearly perpendicular; lofty paper-bark trees grew here and there, and down the middle ran a beautiful stream of clear, cool water, which now gushed along, a murmuring mountain torrent, and anon formed a series of small cascades. As we ascended higher the width contracted; the paper-bark trees disappeared; and the bottom of the valley became thickly wooded with wild nutmeg and other fragrant trees. Cockatoos soared, with hoarse screams, above us, many-coloured parakeets darted away, filling the woods with their playful cries, and the large white pigeons which feed on the wild nutmegs cooed loudly to their mates, and battered the boughs with their wings as they flew away.

The spot I chose to halt at for the night was at the foot of a lofty precipice of rocks, from which a spring gushed forth. Those who had accompanied us from the camp now returned, leaving me and the two soldiers alone and about to penetrate some distance into an utterly unknown country. We were each provided with ten days’ provisions and, confident in the steadiness and courage of my men, I had not the slightest anxiety feeling that as long as we maintained a cool and determined bearing the natives would make no attacks upon us that we could not repel.

We soon erected a little hut of bark, then kindled a fire and cooked our supper, consisting of tea and two white pigeons which we had shot; and by the time our repast was finished it was nearly dark. My companions laid down to sleep: I remained up for a short time to think alone in the wilderness, and then followed their example.

Ascent of A glen.

December 18.

At break of day we were again upon our route, which lay up the valley we had slept in; but, as each of us carried ten days’ provisions and a day’s water, besides our arms, the progress we made in a tropical climate, when thus laden, was necessarily slow and laborious; but the beauty of the landscape and the solicitude we all felt to see more of this unexplored land cheered us on.

Tableland at the summit.

Having at length reached the tableland which this valley drained we found ourselves in the midst of a forest, differing widely from anything we had before seen. The soil beneath our feet was sandy and thickly clothed with spinifex (a prickly grass) which in spite of our thick trousers slightly but continually wounded our legs. The trees were lofty and some of them of considerable circumference; but the trunks of all were charred and blackened by constant fires: this circumstance, and their slight and thin, yet strikingly graceful foliage, gave them a most picturesque appearance.

Every here and there in the wood rose lofty and isolated pinnacles of sandstone rock, fantastic in form, and frequently overgrown with graceful creeping and climbing plants which imparted to them a somewhat of mystery and elegance. In other parts rose the gigantic ant-hills so much spoken of by former visitors of these shores; and in the distance we saw occasionally the forms of the timid kangaroos, who stole fearfully away from the unknown disturbers of their solitude.

Another valley.

But when we arrived at the extremity of the tableland I felt somewhat disappointed at beholding a deep narrow ravine at my feet, precisely resembling in character the one we had left, and beyond this a second sandstone range, wooded as that on which we stood; in about half an hour we gained the bottom of the ravine and found that a rapid stream ran through it, which, being the first we had discovered, I named the Lushington, after the father of my associate in this expedition, and in accordance with a determination I had made before starting.

Mustard (one of the men with me) being ill, I determined to halt here for breakfast and, having completed this meal, I was sorry to find that he was still too unwell to proceed; such however being the case I was compelled to halt for the day: leaving Coles therefore to take care of him, I strolled off to explore the valley alone. Except in being much larger it differed in no respect from the first in which we encamped, and I found that within about half a mile below the spot where I had left the men it terminated in a salt-water inlet, nearly choked up with mangroves. On returning to them I found Mustard somewhat better; to our annoyance however heavy rain set in, accompanied by thunder and lightning; and as we had no shelter but what some overhanging rocks afforded us we passed a very uncomfortable night.

December 19.

Mustard was still not quite well; we therefore started late and travelled slowly, keeping nearly in a south-east direction. We thus gradually ascended the second sandstone range, the summit of which was a tableland, at this point about half a mile wide.

Geological phenomena.

We here remarked a very curious circumstance. Several acres of land on this elevated position were nearly covered with lofty isolated sandstone pillars of the most grotesque and fantastic shapes, from which the imagination might easily have pictured to itself forms equally singular and amusing. In one place was a regular unroofed aisle, with a row of massive pillars on each side; and in another there stood upon a pedestal what appeared to be the legs of an ancient statue, from which the body had been knocked away.

Some of these time-worn columns were covered with sweet-smelling creepers, while their bases were concealed by a dense vegetation, which added much to their very singular appearance. The height of two or three which I measured was upwards of forty feet; and, as the tops of all of them were nearly upon the same level, that of the surrounding country must at one period have been as high as their present summits, probably much higher.

From the top of one of these pillars I surveyed the surrounding country and saw on every side proofs of the same extensive degradation so extensive, indeed, that I found it very difficult to account for; but the gurgling of water, which I heard beneath me, soon put an end to the state of perplexity in which I was involved, for I ascertained that streams were running in the earth beneath my feet; and, on descending and creeping into a fissure in the rocks, I found beneath the surface a cavern precisely resembling the remains that existed above ground, only that this was roofed, whilst through it ran a small stream which in the rainy season must become a perfect torrent. It was now evident to me that ere many years had elapsed the roof would give way, and what now were the buttresses of dark and gloomy caverns would emerge into day and become columns clad in green, and resplendent in the bright sunshine.

Gradual degradation of the land.

In this state they would gradually waste away beneath the ever-during influence of atmospheric causes, and the material being then carried down by the streams, through a series of caverns resembling those of which they once formed a portion, would be swept out into the ocean and deposited on sandbanks, to be raised again, at some remote epoch, a new continent, built up with the ruins of an ancient world.

I subsequently, during the season of the heavy rains, remarked the usual character of the mountain streams to be that they rose at the foot of some little elevation which stood upon a lofty tableland composed of sandstone, then flowed in a sandy bed for a short distance and afterwards mysteriously sank in the cracks and crevices made in the rocks from atmospheric influences, and did not again reappear until they had reached the foot of the precipice which terminated the tableland whence they sprang; here they came foaming out in a rapid stream which had undoubtedly worked strange havoc in the porous sandstone rocks among which it held its subterraneous course.

What the amount of sand annually carried down from the north-western portion of Australia into the ocean may be we have no means whatever of ascertaining; that it is sufficient to form beds of sand of very great magnitude is attested by the existence of numerous and extensive sandbanks all along the coast. One single heavy tropical shower of only a few hours’ duration washed down, over a plot of ground which was planted with barley, a bed of sand nearly five inches deep, which the succeeding showers again swept off, carrying it further upon its way towards the sea.

The space of ground covered with these columns gradually contracted its dimensions as we proceeded; the columns themselves became nearer and nearer to each other until they at length formed walls of cliffs on each side of us, and we finally reached a point where a single lofty pillar, standing in front of a dry cascade, formed the centre of an amphitheatre of sandstone. There was some water in a little natural basin at the base of the cliffs. I determined therefore to halt here for breakfast and, leaving the men at the foot of the cascade to prepare some tea, I clambered to its summit, and found myself on another tableland similar to that which I had just left, and covered in the same manner with natural columns.

Sandstone caverns.

Some distance from the top of the cascade I discovered a cavern, or rather huge hole in the water-course, into which, thinking it might contain fossil bones, I descended as far as the first ledge, and I then perceived that the water pouring through this cavern in the rainy season was cutting off another rock of sandstone similar to the remarkable pillar in front of the cascade. The water in the basin below must have filtered out from this cavern. On a further examination I found that a precisely similar series of operations was going on throughout the whole amphitheatre of cliffs which bounded the tableland we had been traversing during the morning.

In the rainy season (March 7th) I again passed this spot and found the watercourse full of water, which was also falling abundantly from the cascade. From this circumstance I inferred that the subterraneous outlets for the water were all filled, consequently the large body which these caverns would contain must have been then endeavouring to force its way through the fissures in the porous sandstone rocks.

Continuation of route. Halt in A valley.

After breakfast we continued on our route through a sandstone country precisely resembling the one which I have now described, and in the course of the day, having completed fifteen miles in a straight line, we halted for the night in a fertile valley affording plenty of fresh water, and so densely wooded with the dwarf pandanus and other prickly trees that we could scarcely make our way through the underwood. In this valley we saw several sorts of cranes, principally Ardea antigone, and Ardea scolopacia, and I shot one of the former kind and laid it by, intending to eat it in the morning. We could not find any holes in the rocks large enough to protect us from the rain, which fell throughout the night, accompanied by thunder and lightning.

December 20.

Just as we turned out this morning a large kangaroo came close to us to drink at a waterhole; the effect as it stole along through the thick bushes in the morning twilight was very striking. I could not succeed in getting a shot at it; but, as I was determined to have a meat breakfast, I desired Mustard to cook the crane, the rats however had eaten the greater part of it; we therefore at once moved on and, after travelling four miles in a south-east direction over good land, we reached a valley, the largest and best I had yet seen, containing trees and birds such as we had not before met with; kangaroos were more plentiful, and, for the first time, we saw the opossum. The valley was more than a mile in width at the point where we first made it, and we had but just time to cross it and to gain the partial shelter of some rocks when heavy rain again set in. We could keep no fire and, being soon wet through, passed a wretched night.

December 21.

We all today began to feel the want of food; since Sunday night we had subsisted on nothing but rice and tea, and only in very small quantities at a time, as the heavy rain had materially interrupted our cooking. As there was plenty of game in this valley I determined to halt for a day previously to my return to the party, for the double purpose of exploring the valley and of shooting game.

Cuckoo-pheasant.

The large bird which was the most abundant here was the Cuculus phasianus or pheasant cuckoo. This bird in colour, in length of tail, in its size, and general appearance so closely resembles the hen pheasant of England that, when it is on the wing, it is almost impossible to tell the difference; its habits and food are also identical with that of the English pheasant. The chief point of distinction is that its toes point two before and two behind, in the same manner as those of a parrot; but what is very remarkable about this bird is that, although, like the other Scansores, it delights in climbing and running up trees, it is equally fond of running along the ground in the manner a pheasant does.

Sporting.

This day I found plenty of these birds in a cover of long dry grass and bushes about half my height. From this kind of ground I descended to deep lagoons in the bottoms, with rushes, reeds, and dense tropical vegetation around them, amongst which the bamboo and pandanus bore a conspicuous figure; as I beat this cover the pheasants, with their whirring noise, rose on all sides of me, and my Westley Richards was kept in constant operation. I never enjoyed a better day’s pheasant shooting in any preserve in England; and I may here remark that North-Western Australia is as good a country for sport in the shooting way as I am acquainted with; whilst for every kind of sport except wild-fowl shooting the southern part of Australia is the worst country in the world. My bag being full, and my companions very hungry, I had no excuse for staying longer away from them, and therefore returned, although very loth to leave such beautiful scenery and such excellent sport.

Fertile country descried.

In the interval between the showers, and whilst the men were trying to kindle a fire, I ascended a sandstone range under the shelter of some rocks near the summit of which we were encamped; from this elevated position I saw a far better country to the south of us than any we had yet traversed; and the prospect was so cheering in this direction that I felt assured, when it was once gained with the horses, we should be able to travel on with comparative rapidity and facility.

Native haunts.

Having emptied my bag I started again to commence the exploration of the valley we were in. It sloped first in a north-easterly and then in a nearly easterly direction; the river that ran through it was in some places almost dry, or was rather a chain of large ponds than a river, several of these ponds being more than a hundred yards across. I followed the valley down for about five miles in the direction of Prince Regent’s River and found to my surprise that this part was by no means thinly inhabited by natives; still, as none of the traces I had yet seen were very recent, I trusted that we should not fall in with any considerable body.

Traces of natives.

At length however I came upon a spot which a number of them appeared to have quitted only an hour or two before, and where they had been sitting under a large tree at the edge of one of these ponds; their recent fire had been first slaked with water and sand then thrown over it. I knew therefore that they had been disturbed, and most probably by my gun; but not before they had made a hearty meal of roasted fresh-water mussels (unios) and nuts of a kind which grew on a large shady tree in pods, like a tamarind pod, the kernel being contained in a shell, of which each pod held several, and the fruit tasting exactly like filberts. The spot was admirably suited for their purpose; their bark beds were placed under the shelter of this tree and only a few yards distant from the pond, which contained abundance of large unios.

Attack of natives.

I sat down under the nut tree to consider what was my best plan to adopt. From the signs around us the natives were evidently much more numerous than I had expected: in the event of anything happening to one of the three our return to the main party might be considerably impeded, if not altogether prevented; and although, from the superiority of our weapons over theirs, I entertained but little doubt as to the issue of any contest we might be forced into, the calls of humanity as well is of personal interest warned me to do my utmost to avoid an affray.

Return towards Hanover bay.

I returned therefore to the party and, having made our dinner from pheasant soup and birds which had been first split in two and then nicely roasted on the ashes, we commenced our journey homewards, cautiously and circumspectly, that we might run no risk of being surprised. Until the evening began to close upon us we pursued our route through scenery similar to that we had passed the day before, our course laying several miles to the northward of our former track; and when we halted for the night I carefully chose a good position and, mentioning my apprehensions concerning the natives to the men in such a way as to put them on their guard without exciting their alarm, we bivouacked for the night. Soon after sunset the thunderstorms of the previous evening were renewed, accompanied by tremendous rain. This was unfortunate as it rendered it nearly impossible for us to keep our arms in an efficient state.

December 22.

After passing a wretched and uncomfortable night we started before dawn, pursuing a direction about west by north, and passed one of the openings from Prince Regent’s River laid down in Captain King’s chart, and there left without a termination, which I had thus an opportunity of fixing. Having completed about six miles I halted for breakfast. No signs whatever of the natives had been again seen; this restored my confidence and, as the sun was intensely hot and we were much fatigued, we lay about in rather a careless and imprudent way. Fortunately the gathering clouds prognosticated that we should soon have rain; and, as we could get no good shelter where we were, I ordered the men to move on: we had just gained the top of the range when a violent storm of rain overtook us, I therefore doubled back about a hundred yards to the left of our former track to gain some rocks forming a portion of a detached group upon a tableland, and which I had observed as we passed them.

Attacked by natives.

Scarcely had we reached these rocks, and sheltered ourselves under the overhanging projections, when I saw a savage advancing with a spear in his right hand, and a bundle of similar weapons in his left; he was followed by a party of thirteen others, and with them was a small dog not of the kind common to this country. The men were curiously painted for war, red being the predominant colour, and each man carried several spears, a rowing stick, and a club. Their chief was in front, and distinguished by his hair being of a dark red colour from some composition with which it was smeared; the others followed him close, noiselessly, and with stealthy pace, one by one, whilst he, crouching almost to the earth, pricked off our trail.

We remained concealed and motionless until they had all passed, but the moment they came to where we had turned off they discovered our retreat, and raised loud shouts of triumph, as, forming themselves into a semicircle, they advanced upon us, brandishing their spears and bounding from rock to rock. It was in vain that I made friendly signs and gestures, they still closed upon us, and to my surprise I heard their war-cry answered by a party who were coming over the high rocks in our rear, which I had flattered myself protected us in that direction.

Our situation was now so critical that I was compelled to assume a hostile attitude. I therefore shouted in answer to their cries and, desiring the men to fire one at a time if I gave the word, I advanced rapidly, at the same time firing one barrel over their heads. This had the desired effect. With the exception of one more resolute than the rest they fled on all sides, and he, finding his efforts unavailing, soon followed their example.

Return to the encampment. Hanover bay.

Feeling however that the neighbourhood we were in was a dangerous one, and being anxious to know whether the party I had left at the encampment only six in number had seen these natives, I hurried our march, although the rain fell in torrents all day; and we that night made the camp.

Proceedings there during my absence.

I found the party all in good health and spirits: they had seen nothing whatever of the natives during my absence. The sailing of the Lynher had been unfortunately delayed until the 21st of December. On the 18th and 19th the tides had been so low that, although Mr. Lushington had done his utmost, the schooner made little or no progress in her watering. On the 20th the crew and whole party were employed; yet they only succeeded in getting off 280 gallons for they were obliged to carry the water in small baricos to the boat, over slippery rocks and deep mud: and on the 21st, thinking it better to complete their water at Timor, they set sail. This difficulty of watering only arose from the lowness of the tides (neap) and our ignorance of the country. Subsequently we found no difficulty in procuring it; indeed no country in the world is better watered than this portion of Australia.

Since the sailing of the Lynher the party had been actively engaged in building a shed for the stores. This labour was still continued, after my arrival, and completed on Christmas eve.

Christmas dinner.

On Christmas Day we all dined together in a little booth made of boughs, which we dressed up as gaily as we could. I could not but feel considerable pleasure in seeing the happy countenances of the men ranged round the rough plank that formed our table. We sat down, a little band of nine, bound upon an adventure of which the issue to any and all of us was very uncertain: yet no forebodings appeared to damp the pleasure of the present moment; and as I anxiously looked round I could not detect the slightest trace of a gloomy thought in any of the cheerful faces that surrounded me. After dinner we drank the Queen’s health, the first time such a toast had been given in these regions; and then, Mr. Walker and myself retiring to talk alone, left the rest to their own amusements.

1838.

Planting useful seeds.

The interval between that and New Year’s Day found and left us full of occupation. On this latter day I had resolved to do homage to the country by a seasonable gift; and therefore, rising with the earliest dawn, spent the whole day in planting, in various positions, seeds of the most useful fruits and vegetables. Those we had already planted were doing well, and I hoped that this benefaction might prove one of no small value, perhaps to civilized man, or at least to the natives of the vicinity.

Walk to Munster water.

January 4.

A party of us this day walked to Hanover Bay for the purpose of making some observations on the sandy beach there, after which we went over to Prince Regent’s River, near Munster Water. The country until near the bank of the river at this point was of the same sandy nature as that about the beach: there however it improves; and from the circumstance of my finding a regular haunt of the natives I feel sure that there is plenty of fresh water in the neighbourhood. This place of their sojourn resembled one before described, and many others I had seen. An extensive circle was formed by laying a large flat stone upon the ground, and on each of these a smaller one; between the two they evidently crushed the shellfish and nuts which formed their food. Near some of the stones were laid huge shells for the purpose of drinking from; and in the centre of the circle were the marks of frequent fires. We heard the natives calling to one another in the woods, but saw none of them; and in the evening returned to our encampment.

Isthmus near Hanover bay.

January 6.

I made an excursion this day for the purpose of examining the land lying between Port George the Fourth and Hanover Bay: it consists of a low neck which connects the peninsula terminating in High Bluff Point with the main. Thus it is bounded on two sides by the sea, and on the other two by rocky hills which are perfectly precipitous, both towards the main and the peninsula; but a natural terrace runs along under the cliff in the direction of Camden Sound, which I believe would form a good road to that harbour. The tract thus enclosed appears to be very fertile. Porphyry and basalt are the common rocks. The soil is rich vegetable mould, mixed with gravel and covered with the most luxuriant grass. The trees were in general small. We only found three springs here; these however were sufficient to prove that it was well supplied in this respect. A species of plant was observed here, which in appearance and smell exactly resembled the jasmine of England: and it would be difficult to give any adequate impression of the singular sensation of pleasure derived from the sight of this simple emblem of home. Here were regular beaten tracks of the natives, as completely pathways as those we find in England leading from a village to a farmhouse.

Hill of shells.

Near the sea we also came upon a complete hill of broken shells, which it must have taken some centuries to form, for it covered nearly, if not quite, half an acre of ground, and in some places was ten feet high: it was situated just over a bed of cockles, and was evidently formed from the remains of native feasts, as their fireplaces, and the last small heaps of shells were visible on the summit of the hill. This neck of land is undoubtedly of the first importance; for, lying as it does between Port George the Fourth and Hanover Bay, it commands two excellent harbours, and its soil is moreover highly fertile. I conceive that a point nearer Camden Bay would be of greater consequence to the mother country; but, after such a spot, this neck of land is the most important position on the North-west coast of Australia.

(Footnote. A similar mass of shells, though of smaller dimensions, is spoken of by Captain King, at Port Essington: A curious mound, constructed entirely of shells, rudely heaped together, measuring thirty feet in diameter, and fourteen feet high, was also noticed near the beach, and was supposed to be a burying-place of the Indians. King’s Australia volume 1 page 87.)

For some days after our return from this excursion all hands were occupied in drying the stores, which had suffered a little from the late rains; in planting barley and potatoes; and in a variety of occupations of the same nature.

Excursion to country about Prince regent’s river.

As all the necessary magnetic and astronomical observations were now completed I seized the opportunity offered by the first favourable day and started with a party of three in the direction of Prince Regent’s River.

We made the river about Halfway Bay, and then followed its course, keeping about a mile or two inland. A considerable portion of the land in the neighbourhood of the river was most excellent, consisting of rich meadow plains. The general proportion of good country compared with the bad was still however but small.

Gouty-stemmed trees.

There was a very remarkable feature in the appearance of this part of the country, caused by the number of gouty stemmed trees (a species of Capparis ?) These trees grow to a considerable height, and had the appearance of suffering from some disease, but, from the circumstance of all of them being affected in the same way, this was undoubtedly their natural state. I measured one of the largest I here saw, and found that at eighteen inches above the ground its circumference was about twenty-eight feet six inches.

The foliage of this tree was slight but graceful, and it was loaded with a fruit of an elliptical form, as large as a coconut. This fruit was enclosed in a rind, closely resembling that of the almond, and inside the rind was a shell containing a soft white pulp, in which were placed a species of almond, very palatable to the taste, and arranged in this pulp much in the manner in which the seeds are placed in the pomegranate. Upon the bark of these trees being cut they yielded in small quantities a nutritious white gum, which both in taste and appearance resembles macaroni; and upon this bark being soaked in hot water an agreeable mucilaginous drink was produced.

This tree is, from this combination of useful qualities, a vegetable production of no slight value, and probably comes near the cocoa-nut tree in value. Its worth is well known to the natives for its vicinity is one of their favourite haunts. Around nearly all of them I have found marks of their fires, and on many of these trees were several successive rows of notches, formed in this manner:

All but the last row being invariably scratched out. These rows of notches were evidently of different ages, and I imagine must indicate the number of nuts taken each year from the tree. I often also found rude drawings scratched upon the trees, but none of these sketches indicated anything but a very ordinary degree of talent, even for a savage: some were so imperfect that it was impossible to tell what they were meant to represent.

(Footnote. This tree was also observed on this part of the continent by Captain King, who met with it both at Cambridge Gulf and Careening Bay, and describes it as follows: Mr. Cunningham was fortunate in finding the fruit of the tree that was first seen by us at Cambridge Gulf, and had for some time puzzled us from its immense size and peculiar appearance. It proved to be a tree of the Natural Order Capparides, and was thought to be a Capparis; the gouty habit of the stem, which was soft and spongy, gave it an appearance of disease; but as all the specimens, from the youngest plant to the full-grown tree, possessed the same deformed appearance, it was evidently the peculiarity of its habit. The stem of the largest of these trees measured twenty-nine feet in girt, whilst its height did not exceed twenty-five feet. It bore some resemblance to the Adansonia figured in the account of Captain Tuckey’s expedition to Congo. King’s Australia volume 1 page 423.)

Singular pieces of sandstone.

I this day again remarked a circumstance which had before this period elicited my attention; which was that we occasionally found fixed in the boughs of trees, at a considerable height from the ground, pieces of sandstone, nearly circular in form, about an inch and a half in thickness, and from four to five in diameter, so that they resembled small millstones. What was the object in thus fashioning and placing these stones I never could conceive, for they were generally in the least remarkable spots: they cannot point out burial places, for I have made such minute searches that in such a case I must have found some of the bones; neither can they indicate any peculiar route through the country, for two never occur near one another.

Preparation to build A boat.

On my return to the camp I found that the schooner had not yet arrived; I now began to fear that some accident had occurred, and made my preparations accordingly. The party was fully prepared to meet such a misfortune and, as we had the means of constructing a boat large enough to take us to Swan River, I felt more anxious for the safety of those in the vessel than for our own. That no time however might be lost I examined the neighbourhood of the encampment and found that within our immediate vicinity were plenty of trees well adapted for the purpose, which I marked, and had some of them felled.