Occupation at the camp.

During the absence of the schooner we had our attention fully engaged in forming a garden, collecting specimens, and building sheds for the stores. So difficult and rocky was the country we were in that I was employed for several days in finding a route by which unloaded horses could travel from the beach in Hanover Bay to the point where we were encamped, for the landing-place at the end of the ravine was so rocky as to be impracticable for that purpose. Mr. Walker at length discovered a pass in the cliffs, and by constructing a winding path in this he thought that we should be able to get loaded horses out of the valley. I feared that he was too sanguine, and therefore daily renewed my search in all directions. I travelled up the entire length of the ravine that we were encamped in but found that, even granting it was not flooded, we should find great difficulty in emerging by this route.

These circumstances made me resolve upon the return of the schooner to re-embark the stores, and land them again either upon a point I had fixed upon on the south bank of Prince Regent’s River, or upon the neck of land I have before mentioned, which lay between Port George the Fourth and Hanover Bay; but I could not finally decide upon either of the points until the return of the vessel should enable me to examine the coast between Port George the Fourth and Camden Sound; for my party only consisted of nine men, of whom with the exception of three or four I knew nothing, and after what I had seen of the treacherous disposition of the natives I did not think, in my position, it would be prudent to absent myself from them for any length of time.

Return of the Lynher.

Amidst such exciting and busy scenes, the time flew rapidly away until the 17th of January, when about 11 A.M. the report of a carronade came echoing up the valley. This was the preconcerted signal which was to announce to us that the vessel was safely at anchor in Hanover Bay. We were of course all anxiety to hear an account of their adventures, and to ascertain whether the horses were safe. I hastened directly to the landing-place, where I met Mr. Lushington and a party coming ashore from the schooner.

Relation of proceedings at Kupang Timor and roti.

The following outline of their transactions was soon given:

They had quitted Hanover Bay on the 21st December at 9 A.M., and reached Kupang in the Island of Timor on the 1st of January. For the first three days until they got clear of the land they had every evening, soon after sunset, heavy squalls from the north-east, accompanied with thunder, lightning, and rain; the prevalent wind was however from the north-west. The Lynher remained at Kupang until the 7th, during which time they completed their water and collected coconuts, bread-fruit trees, etc., to be planted in Australia; but as Mr. Lushington found that he should be able more easily to obtain ponies at the island of Roti than at Kupang, they sailed on the morning of the 7th for that place, and at 7 P.M. came to in the harbour of Rougun in eleven fathoms water, with muddy bottom.

They were enabled to procure at Roti the requisite number of horses by the evening of the 11th of January. The people of this island appeared to be excessively ignorant, knew but little of the nature and value of money, and were much astonished when they were shown a watch. Their favourite mode of disposing of their property was by barter; the articles they prized most were muskets and coarse gunpowder, but they preferred having the gunpowder in a claret bottle, as if this was considered by them to be some definite measure which bore a certain value. They were not very particular about the quality of the muskets provided their outward form and appearance were tolerably good. I have since ascertained that the natives of the little-frequented islands of the Archipelago invariably prefer an old musket to a new one, as they conceive a totally new one may be unsafe, from having been made merely for the purpose of sale; whilst one which has seen service has been indisputably manufactured for use. If they entertain any doubt about the goodness of a musket they generally insist upon the seller’s firing it off.

Mode of barter at roti.

The people of Roti are not allowed to fix themselves what is to be the price of their horses; all the details of the sale are settled by an assemblage of chiefs: their constant cry in bartering (if anything else is offered to them) is “schnapper, schnapper” (a musket, a musket). They refused at first to take percussion guns in exchange, but when they saw Captain Browse cock one of these, pour a quantity of water over the lock, and fire it off, their astonishment knew no bounds, and they then eagerly bartered for them. When they found that all the muskets were exhausted they were content to take money and other articles in lieu: an old dress waistcoat of mine and a regulation breastplate procured eight small sheep; and Captain Browse got fourteen goats for a pair of old pistols. The authorities give every encouragement to the trader; but the duties exacted are high, for at Kupang and Roti they demand six rupees duty for every horse exported, or musket imported. Arms and gunpowder are no longer considered contraband.

The inhabitants of Roti were described as being so indolent that it was almost impossible to induce them to do anything: although every means were used to tempt them to cut a sufficient quantity of fodder for the ponies on their passage they constantly delayed doing so and, Mr. Lushington’s patience being at last worn out, the vessel put to sea on the 12th of January 1838.

New island discovered.

On the 13th they sighted the Hibernian shoal which they made in 11 degrees 57 minutes south latitude and 123 degrees 22 minutes 30 seconds east longitude. On Monday 15th of January at 10 P.M. they discovered an island, thus described in the log of the Lynher:

At 10 hours 30 minutes P.M. saw land about a quarter of a mile ahead; hauled our wind to west by south; sounded in 12 fathoms water, rocky bottom; it appeared to be about one mile in extent, and about twenty feet above the water. After running west by south one mile, got no bottom with 40 fathoms of line. Kept our course south by east: it (the island) appeared to be quite level with rocks extending to north-west, with heavy breakers. Made it by observation south latitude 14 degrees 4 minutes; east longitude 123 degrees 31 minutes by good chronometer rated at Roti.

Trouble with the horses.

At 6 A.M. on the morning of the 16th they experienced heavy squalls of wind off Red Island, and this prevented them from getting into Hanover Bay on that day; but on the morning of the 17th they anchored safely, without having lost a single pony, or without having experienced any serious misfortune, having made the passage from Roti in five days.

Unforeseen EMBARRASSMENTS.

Some short time was occupied in narrating the adventures we had respectively encountered since we had last seen one another, and in giving way to the pleasure arising from meeting again in so distant a land, and under such circumstances: at last came the unpleasant announcement that there was not an atom of forage on board, so that the ponies must of necessity be landed tomorrow; and my plans of disembarking them at a more eligible site were thus at once overthrown. Being the only person who knew the route to Hanover Bay from the encampment, I was obliged to remain on shore to guide the party over there the next morning. Mr. Lushington and the Captain however returned on board to make preparations for landing the horses at daybreak.

Landing the horses.

I lay down to sleep this night oppressed with very uneasy thoughts. I was thoroughly convinced that the position we occupied was a bad one to make a start from; but we had already approached too near the season of the heaviest rains (the beginning of February) to allow of longer delay, so that to have landed the horses, then to cut grass for them, and afterwards to have re-embarked them and the stores, would, in my opinion, have been a tedious and wrong course to adopt. Unforeseen difficulties, and against which we could not have guarded, had already completely encompassed us, so that, considering the scanty means at our disposal, the remote and unknown region in which we were situated, and the impossibility of our receiving further aid from any quarter, I saw no way of overcoming them. All therefore that was now left us was to make the most of our actual means, to acquit ourselves like men, and do our utmost.

Excursion by water to Prince regent’s river.

January 18.

Fortune smiled on us this morning in as far as she gave us a fine daybreak, and at dawn we started for Hanover Bay, leaving a small party at the encampment. After all the trouble I had taken to find a good route for the horses, we still had a great deal to do to render it at all practicable; we however all worked cheerfully and sturdily away at burning the grass, moving rocks and fallen trees, etc., and thus, as it were, fought our way through opposing obstacles to Hanover Bay, over a distance of about four miles.

Trouble in getting the horses to the camp.

On arriving there I found Mr. Lushington already on shore and some of the horses disembarked. They were not only well selected for the purpose, but were generally in good condition. They had however two faults which could not have been avoided, and these were that they were very small and perfectly wild. By about two o’clock in the afternoon the whole twenty-six had been swum ashore, and we started for the huts.

Our progress was however slow; for, as there were only a few of us, each person was obliged to take charge of three or four of these untamed, unbroken brutes. The mode we adopted was to fasten them together by long ropes so that the number each man led could follow in a line; but, being wholly unused to this kind of discipline, they strenuously resisted it, biting and kicking at one another with the greatest ferocity; and as they were chiefly very courageous little entire horses, a variety of spirited contests took place, much to their own satisfaction, but to my infinite chagrin. Some of the men who were not much accustomed to horses regarded these wild ponies as being but little better than savage monsters, with whom it was dangerous to have anything to do; and, being thus rather afraid of them, treated them very cruelly, kicking them often with great violence whenever I for a moment looked away, and thus naturally rendering the ponies still more wild.

But even when we did induce these brutes to move along pacifically they would not follow one another in a line, but all strove to go in different directions, and, as our road lay through a rocky forest, the consequence of this pulling was that the connecting ropes kept on getting entangled in rocks and trees; indeed there was scarcely an instance of two of them passing on the same side of a tree or rock at the first attempt, so that we were continually halting to clear their tether ropes; again, one of the beasts would now and then become obstinate, refuse to move, and this delayed us all; for I would not allow the party to separate for fear of the natives. In consequence of all these adverse circumstances at sunset we had scarcely got half-way to the encampment; and just at this period one pony became and remained so obstinate that, in despair, I had it tied up to a tree alone. We now moved on again as fast as we could, but night soon surprised us, and, when it became too dark to see our course, we tethered our horses and laid down in the forest by them; but as it rained, and we had neither warm clothes nor covering, and many of the party had tasted nothing since dawn, our situation was not very pleasant; indeed, the combined circumstances of cold, hunger, and obstinate ponies had rendered some of the men more crabbed than I had ever before seen them.

January 19.

As soon as it was light enough to find the ponies we recommenced our march; and, all our annoyances of yesterday being repeated, did not succeed in arriving at the ravine until noon it took us much care and a great deal of time to reach the bottom of this in safety; when however we had done so, we knee-haltered the ponies and let them loose amidst very good feed, of which they now stood much in need, for there was no grass whatever between the encampment and Hanover Bay; the whole of the intervening country being a mass of rock, scrub, and spinifex. I now sent a party back to bring on the refractory pony, which I had yesterday been obliged to tie up to a tree, and the long fast it had been subjected to appeared to have produced a very beneficial effect on its temper, for it now was perfectly docile.

Excursion up Prince regent’s river. Preparations for moving.

For the next few days all was bustle and preparation. The ponies being so much smaller than I had expected, all our packsaddles had to be altered, and fourteen of them, which the party had made during the absence of the schooner, still had to be put together. Mr. Walker undertook the task of constructing a pathway up the cliffs, by means of which the loaded ponies could ascend; he laboured personally at making this path, occasionally assisted by two or three others; and it would be impossible for anyone who had not seen it at all to comprehend the obstacles he met with, and the perseverance with which he contended against and finally overcame them. We were obliged to complete everything in a hurried and unsatisfactory manner, for our departure had been so long delayed that we were every day in expectation of the setting in of the heavy rains and the consequent flooding of the ravine in which we were encamped; and in the event of this taking place before we made a start it was impossible to foresee for how long a period our movements might be delayed.

Character of its shores.

On Monday the 22nd Captain Browse and Mr. Walker accompanied me in the jolly-boat up Prince Regent’s River; we went up with the flood-tide, entering the river by its northern mouth; I had thus an opportunity of examining the island which lies at the entrance to this great arm of the sea, and landed upon it in several places, but found only bad sandy land, occasionally covered with rocks; it was however well wooded and abounded with birds. After we had passed the mouth of Rothsay Water the tide swept us along with great rapidity, and we soon found ourselves in St. George’s Basin. I kept close along the northern shore, where we saw but little good land after entering the basin; but there was one fertile island, of a small conical shape, bearing nearly due east as you enter. From the appearance of this island there can be no doubt whatever that it is of volcanic origin; as it in all respects resembles Mount Lyell and the other basaltic conical hills which we afterwards found in the fertile district of Glenelg; we did not however land on it, but merely ran close by, and then continued our route up the river.

St. George’s Basin is a noble sheet of water some ten or twelve miles across. On its southern side deep inlets run up into a low and marshy country, leading to fertile districts, and the main object of my present excursion was to endeavour to identify these inlets with some I had seen on my first trip to the southward.

Scenery and thunderstorm.

On the northern bank lofty mountains, crowned with castellated summits, rear their sterile heads over the broad waters, and fling their giant shadows on the bosom of the basin, forming a scene of surpassing beauty.

We had entered the more contracted channel of the river, when there came on a tremendous squall of wind, rain, thunder, and most vivid lightning. The pealing echoes of the thunder as they bounded from height to height and from cliff to cliff was awfully magnificent; whilst the rugged mountains which had just before looked golden in the bright light of the setting sun were now shrouded in gloomy mists, and capped with dark clouds from which issued incessant and dazzling flashes of lightning.

During this grand and terrific elemental convulsion our little boat was driven powerless before the blast. The impenetrable forests of mangroves which clothed the riverbanks obliging us to run far up the stream until at last a convenient opening enabled us to land upon the southern shore.

Delusive appearance on the rocks.

We had not long landed when the rain ceased and, as we found several natural caverns in the rock and plenty of dead mangrove trees, we proceeded to make ourselves comfortable for the night; but the men soon reported that they saw the smoke of a native fire close to us, and Captain Browse and myself, under the conviction that such was the case, darted with Mr. Walker to endeavour to gain an interview. But, as we proceeded over the rocks, the smoke appeared gradually to retire, always keeping about the same distance from us: and we at last ascertained that what had appeared to us to be smoke was nothing but the rising vapour occasioned by the cold rain falling on sandstone rocks, which had during the whole day been exposed to the burning rays of a tropical sun.

We had now become so much accustomed to sleeping without any covering, and upon hard rocks, that we should not have minded our exposure had it not been for the rain which fell during the night and beat in under the rocks, beneath which we had crept for shelter. The cold air of the morning awoke us long before daylight; and Mr. Walker and myself, having explored the country to the southward and climbed a high hill from which we had an extensive view, we started on our return to the schooner. In proceeding down the river we landed on an island, situate at the south-eastern extremity of St. George’s Basin, just where the river runs into it. The presence of large dead trees on this island, which had evidently been swept down the river in the time of floods and washed up far above the usual water-mark, showed that Prince Regent’s River is subject to the same sudden inundations as all other rivers in Australia which I have seen. During our passage down the river we saw no extent of good land in any one place.

State of the stock.

For the next few days we had almost uninterrupted bad weather. The party were all occupied in preparing the saddles, etc. The ponies having eaten off the grass in the ravine, we were compelled, about the 28th, to move them to the higher grounds. These at our first arrival on this coast were perfectly dry and burnt up; but since the heavy rains had set in they teemed with running springs, along the margins of which grew a scanty coating of grass. Being obliged to send the horses to a distance to graze delayed us a great deal for one portion of our party was occupied in attending upon them. Our sheep also now began to die off: they had up to this time improved rapidly and were doing very well, having, during the absence of the vessel, been regularly tended and driven to the high dry ground to feed; but now the pressure of business was so great that we were compelled in some degree to neglect them, and from this they suffered. The goats had from some cause never succeeded well.

From the period of their being landed many of the horses had declined very much, and several of them were by this time reduced to a very weakly state. This originated from the heavy rains and the excessive cold which accompanied them, as well as from some food they had eaten which had not agreed with them. On the 28th and 29th the rains increased in violence and duration; but we still continued our occupations of completing the packsaddles and arranging the stores in such small packages that they could easily in case of necessity be transported on men’s shoulders.

Final arrangements for the march.

Having provided every requisite for the party, such as food, working utensils, soap, tobacco, etc., all of which were arranged in their respective packages, I issued an order that nothing but certain articles of clothing for each individual were to be put upon the ponies. This step was rendered the more necessary from their weakness and their diminutive size having greatly abridged our intended means of transport. Numerous requests were now made to me to be allowed to put various articles upon the horses, all of which I felt myself obliged to meet by a steady refusal; but this refusal, dictated entirely by the necessity of the case, raised angry and discontented feelings, tending to diminish materially the individual zeal and energy which were so much required at this juncture to ensure our success.

Departure for the interior. Difficulties of the route.

On the 29th we began in the afternoon to load our horses. Mr. Walker’s pathway was completed by means of a number of circuitous and sharp turnings: it led directly up the face of cliffs which were almost precipitous and 180 feet in height. To commemorate the completion of this really laborious undertaking I named the valley Walker’s Valley.

Troublesome ascent from the valley. Sickness and mortality among the horses and stock.

The ponies, though weak, bore their burdens and submitted to the packsaddles better than I had hoped. The first horse was led up by the stock-keeper in safety, with its saddle and load on it; I followed with the second, but was not so fortunate. I had accomplished about three-fourths of the ascent when, turning one of the sharp corners round a rock, the load struck against it and knocked the horse over on its side. I thought for a moment that the poor beast would have fallen down the precipice, but luckily its roll was checked in time to prevent this. There it lay however on a flat rock, four or five feet wide, a precipice of 150 feet on one side of it, and the projecting rock against which it had struck on the other, whilst I sat upon its head to prevent it from moving. Its long tail streamed in the wind over the precipice; its wild and fiery eye gleamed from its shaggy mane and forelock; and, ignorant of its impending danger, it kicked and struggled violently, whilst it appeared to hang in mid-air over the gloomy depth of this tropical ravine. Anxious as I felt for the safety of my pony I could not be unconscious of the singular beauty of the scene during the few minutes that elapsed whilst I was repressing its struggles on a narrow ledge of rock, of which the dark brow projected threateningly above me, whilst the noise of a rushing torrent was audible far below. I cut the girths of the saddle, which then with its load rolled over the precipice, and pitched with a heavy crash on a rock far down. Even then, if the brute had not been a denizen of a wild and mountainous country, it must have been lost; but now it no sooner felt itself freed from its encumbrance than, looking sagaciously around and then raising itself cautiously up, it stood trembling by my side upon the narrow terrace.

Warned by this misfortune we managed to make another turn in the path, by which this awkward rock was avoided, and the remainder of the horses, with their loads, reached the tableland in safety. But so rocky was this country that, even after having mastered the ascent, we found great difficulty in getting the loaded ponies half a mile further to a point I had fixed on for our camp. We had this night a continued succession of heavy showers, accompanied with thunder and lightning.

January 30.

This morning it was reported to me that several sheep were dead, and that the horses were beginning to suffer much from constant exposure to the heavy cold rains, for the trees were so small, and their foliage so slight, that they afforded no shelter whatever from tropical showers. On repairing to the ravine I found that the stream which even yesterday was much swollen had now become an impetuous torrent, so much so that even to swim across it was not an easy matter. A tree was soon felled and a temporary foot-bridge thus formed; and as the rain cleared off a little towards the afternoon we managed, in this interval of fine weather, to load the ponies and carry some stores up the cliffs, but the poor beasts were so much weakened since yesterday that we were obliged to diminish their loads considerably. They all appeared to be gradually declining in health, strength, and condition, but from what cause except exposure I could not tell.

Impediments from bad weather.

January 31.

During last night we had heavy storms, the torrent was still more swollen and, although we laboured hard all day, we accomplished very little; several sheep died during the day, and the ponies appeared to be worse. I became now very anxious as to the result of the expedition; my worst apprehensions as to the rainy season setting in before we had got clear of the sandstone ranges had already been fully realized; every endeavour to hasten our preparations and to prevent this occurrence had been used, though unsuccessfully; it appeared now the better course to bear up against evils that could not be avoided than to lose time in murmuring; I therefore kept all hands constantly employed in doing something which might tend to accelerate our departure.

Heavy rains.

February 1.

We again had heavy and incessant rain throughout Wednesday night, accompanied by thunder and lightning. At daylight the stock-keeper came to report to me that two horses, three sheep, and one goat were dead, and that several other horses appeared to be in a very dangerous state. All our stores with the exception of a few articles had now been removed from the valley in which we had first encamped; some of our goats were still left there, but the torrent had become so rapid and impetuous that it had swept away the bridge and was now impassable. Heavy rains fell throughout the greater portion of the day, and produced a beautiful effect in the ravines, for cascades were pouring over the cliffs on each side, sweeping every now and then before them massive pieces of rock, the crash of which in their fall echoed loudly through the valleys.

Further loss of stock.

February 2.

Bad news came again this morning the stock-keeper met me with a very rueful countenance to report that another horse and two sheep had just been found dead, and that several more sheep were missing. It still rained so heavily that we could not attempt to move, for already a considerable portion of our stores was damaged by the water which had filled the ditch, and regularly flooded the tent in which they were placed.

Mr. Walker started with me for the purpose of marking off a road to the place we next intended to halt at, for the country was so rocky that it was necessary to choose a path with the greatest caution, or we should soon have become embarrassed in precipitous places which the horses could not have traversed. Whilst I was thus engaged Mr. Lushington and two men made another unsuccessful attempt to get the goats and remaining stores across the stream.

Weakness and obstinacy of the ponies.

February 3.

This morning the rain had somewhat abated: the remaining stores were brought from the ravine, and the goats were swum across; in the meantime the ponies were brought up and loaded, and all preparations were at last made for a start: but a host of new difficulties arose; many of the ponies were found to be in such a weakly state that they could with great difficulty carry any weight at all. We were obliged to make a totally new division of the stores, and to select and put aside what articles we could best leave behind. These preparations occupied a considerable time, but we at last moved off in a south-east direction. Our progress was however very slow and tedious; the ponies, though lightly loaded, were so reduced that the slightest obstacle made many fall from weakness, whilst others laid down from obstinacy, and the men being inexperienced in re-fixing the loads, each horse that fell delayed us considerably. At last so many were down at one time that I advanced with such as were able to move to a point distant not more than half a mile, where I halted for the night; and, having unloaded and tethered these horses, we returned to assist the others, and after a great deal of difficulty got the remainder of the weak ponies safe to the encampment.

I slept but little this night for I doubted whether, with our cattle so enfeebled and so out of condition, we should ever succeed in penetrating any distance into the country. We were still a considerable way from the fertile plains I had seen to the southward, whilst the intervening ground was very difficult to travel across and afforded no good feed for the ponies. All my meditations however only terminated in the conviction that it was my duty to continue to use my best exertions under such adverse circumstances.

February 4.

There being no good grass for the horses where we were, I was obliged to move the party and commenced by using every method I could to lighten the loads and to rid the expedition of all encumbrances. I left here a male and female goat who, by their obstinacy, delayed our movements; thinking also that, if they escaped the natives, their offspring might become a valuable acquisition to this land.

We also left here 28 pounds of gunpowder, 10 pounds of ball cartridges, 70 pounds of shot, 200 pounds of preserved meat, some carpenters’ tools, and many other useful articles; yet, notwithstanding this decrease in the loads of the ponies, the country we had to travel through was so bad that we only completed two miles in the course of the day; and yet to find the track by which we did succeed in crossing the range had cost me many successive hours’ walking under a burning sun. The character of the country we passed through was the same as these sandstone ranges always present; namely, sandy scrubby plains, and low ranges of ruinous, rocky hills, in trying to scramble over which the ponies received numerous and severe falls. We however had a very beautiful halting-place, shaded by lofty pines and affording fair feed for the animals.

New plan of movements.

February 5.

On this morning it was reported to me that several of the ponies were in a dying state, and that none of them would be again able to carry even such light loads as they had hitherto done; the quantity of stores they could now convey was quite inadequate to supply a party of the strength we were obliged to move with for any great length of time. A new plan of operations was thus forced upon me, and I now resolved to proceed as follows:

To advance with half our stores to a convenient place for encamping at, and then, on the succeeding day, to send back some of the party with the ponies for the remaining portion of the provisions; whilst, accompanied by two men, I marked off the road by which we were to move on the following day. This mode of proceeding would not very much delay our movements; for the country we were at present in was of so intricate a nature that it was impossible to move loaded horses without previously marking a road for them; and by its adoption I trusted to be able to establish a depot of provisions at some point distant from the coast and whence we could yet make a good start in a southerly direction.

Labour of tracing route.

In pursuance of this plan Mr. Lushington returned this day to our last camp to bring up the provisions we had abandoned; whilst I went off with two men to endeavour to pick out a route by which the ponies could travel. A more toilsome day’s work than we had could not be imagined. For eleven hours I was incessantly walking, exposed during the greater part of the time to the burning rays of a tropical sun; and we found nothing but rocky, almost impassable sandstone ranges and precipitous ravines. I however at last succeeded in discovering a path along which it was just possible we might be able, by using great care, to lead loaded horses; and on my return to the camp I found that all the remaining stores had been brought up.

Descent into A valley.

February 6.

We began our descent this morning from the tableland into a deep valley, following the track we had yesterday marked off, which was still however so rugged and rocky as to be very difficult to get along. Heavy rains set in, and these were always so cold that the large drops falling upon us Occasioned quite a painful sensation. The valleys being all flooded there was no feed in them for the horses and sheep; I therefore was obliged to send them back under charge of Mr. Lushington to the camp, which we had this morning quitted.

I retained three men with me; and after the remainder of the party had moved off I left two of them in charge of the stores, and started with Corporal Coles, again to explore the country in front of us.

Character of the country. Flooded ravine.

About half a mile to the south there was a deep ravine, bounded on each side by lofty cliffs. This ravine resembled in many respects the one we had first encamped in, but it was larger; and it was now impossible to travel either up or down in it on account of the great body of water which occupied its bed. Just opposite to where we were this ravine separated into three smaller ones, running up into the sandstone ranges along which I had previously sought for a route whereby to turn and travel round their heads; but I had found the country so rocky, so impracticable, and devoid of forage that I felt sure it was useless to attempt to traverse it.

My next object was to find a passage out of the main ravine, between the points where the subsidiary ravines ran into it, and where it joined the sea. If I could succeed in doing this our difficulties would, in a great measure, have terminated, for no other main ravine lay between us and the fertile plains which I had seen to the southward; and I knew that we should find no difficulty in traversing the intervening sandstone range, which consisted of a series of elevated plains or terraces, rising one behind the other.

With this view Coles and myself searched until after sunset, but without success. We found the ravine bounded throughout its southern side by inaccessible cliffs. Occasionally little branch ravines ran into it; but on penetrating for some distance up these they invariably terminated in precipitous cascades. A great portion of this afternoon was spent up to our middles in water as we waded about the flooded valley; and the only thing we had to compensate us for the fatigue and suffering we underwent was the wild beauty of the scenery, which was as lovely and picturesque as impetuous torrents, foaming cascades, lofty rocks, and a rich tropical vegetation could render it.

Natives.

On our return homewards, wearied and disappointed, we came close upon a large party of natives before they were aware of our presence. Coles had followed me up the northern bank of the ravine, and we thus occupied a good position; the natives had, I suppose, wished to avoid us, for we saw no more of them, but merely heard the sound of their retiring voices as they moved up the centre of the valley. We now returned to the men we had left in charge of the stores, and reached the tent soon after dark.

Labour of tracing and forming A path.

February 7.

This day was passed in constructing the pathway which was to lead us down into the deep ravine in our front. Whilst the men were thus engaged I traversed the country I had yesterday visited in the hope that I might yet find some outlet into the good country which would take us clear of the others; but my searches were in vain. Only one man accompanied me, and I completely knocked him up ere the evening closed in upon us. We then were obliged to retrace our steps to the camp, and I now found myself perfectly worn out by the fatigue consequent on such continued and violent walking exercise under a tropical sun.

It was however cheering to me to see how constantly some of the men had laboured at forming the road down the valleys which led into the ravine. The horses had been brought down thus far; but three more of them had died, so that our twenty-six ponies were reduced to nineteen, many of whom were in wretched condition.

Continued difficulties of route.

February 8.

We again resumed our journey towards the interior; but the pathway, which ran through the valleys leading to the summit of the ravine, was still so broken and difficult that the ponies could only carry half loads along it; and the descent down the clifTs was so steep that they were obliged to be unladen and led into the ravine without their burdens, which were carried down upon the men’s shoulders. Men could not have behaved better than they all did on this occasion, particularly Corporal Auger who, possessing the power of carrying on his back very heavy burdens, took every occasion of exercising it in such a way as to stimulate the others, and very much to accelerate our movements.

But even when we had with so much labour got ponies, stores, etc. to the bottom of the ravine, our troubles had, as it were, only commenced, for we now had to get out of it on the other side. In the course of the afternoon however a path had been made, and most of the stores were safely stowed upon an elevated tableland where we had pitched the tents. The place I had chosen for our camp was a pretty spot; a sweet, short herbage had been raised by the heavy rains from the sandy soil, and amongst this the beauteous flowers, for which Australia is deservedly celebrated, were so scattered and intermixed that they gave the country an enamelled appearance. A lofty species of Casuarina was intermingled with trees of a denser foliage, and on each side we looked down into two deep ravines; through the dense dark foliage of which could be seen the white foaming waters brawling on their way far below.

The next day was occupied in bringing up the remainder of the stores from the ravine and repairing the damages which had resulted from the bursting of bags and other mischief in their transit over such rough ground. Early in the morning we all had a good bathe, and only those who have been so constantly engaged under a burning sun, and for upwards of a week without regularly washing or undressing, can at all estimate the pleasure with which I plunged into the clear and rapid stream.

Ascent from the ravine.

After thus performing our ablutions we breakfasted, and then, whilst the stores were being conveyed to the tableland, I started, accompanied by one man, to explore a route for our line of march next day. After continuing on the tableland for about a mile I traced a good route both into and out of another ravine; the stream which occupied the bed of this was so swollen that I had some difficulty in finding a ford across it; but after a few rather ludicrous plunges and falls upon the green slippery rocks I succeeded in detecting a tolerably good one. Our line of route now lay across some elevated open plains, clothed with spinifex, and thinly wooded with a large species of Eucalyptus. We saw here numerous signs of the natives, who had been cutting steps in the trees for the purpose of hunting opossums. These open plains extended for about two miles, and we then reached another small ravine, with a rapid stream running through it. A very good route brought us across this slight descent and stream; and from this point no further impediment of any consequence appeared to lie in our way. The direction in which I now wished to travel presented a series of rocky, sandy plains, thinly wooded, and affording a scanty sufficiency of food for the ponies.

Exhaustion from fatigue. Cold rains.

During the time I was searching for this route the rain had fallen in torrents, and the quantity of ground I had walked over was so considerable that I was exhausted; riding was quite impossible in these excursions as, in many places where the ground was covered with loose rocks overgrown with a vegetation which concealed treacherous cavities, it was necessary to pass across it two or three times before I could determine whether a horse could move over it or not. Today I found myself completely knocked up, and felt certain that I could not for many days longer bear up against such continued fatigues. On my return to the camp I found all prepared for a start tomorrow; but many of the horses were so ill as to be incapable of carrying more than half a load.

February 10.

We moved off at daybreak and, having reached the ravine, set to work to form a pathway down the descent, and up the ascent on the other side, under the additional disadvantage of heavy rain. The sudden transition from the rays of a burning sun to this cold bath made my teeth chatter as if I had a tertian ague. When half our work was completed we breakfasted in the beautiful ravine amidst the dark luxuriant vegetation of the tropics, formed by the pandanus, bamboo, and palm.

After breakfast the men recommenced their labour on the road. About two P.M. it was completed, and we then loaded the ponies and set out. The poor animals were however so weak that it was almost impossible to get them to move; they stumbled and fell repeatedly, and thus thereby not only injured themselves but so delayed our movements that we only made three miles and a half during the day, and then halted for the night on very elevated land, and in a good position, for we were on a little sandy rise, along the base of which ran a stream, distant about one hundred yards.

Worst difficulties surmounted.

Having thus gained the elevated plains I laid down to sleep, satisfied that the worst of our labours were over; yet I could not but recollect that it had taken us ten days to reach a spot which by the proper route was only a short day’s journey from the valley we were first encamped in, and that in our march through the country we had been compelled to traverse we had lost seven ponies, and injured many of those remaining; all these difficulties arose from our departure having been delayed so long that the rains had set in and so flooded the country that we could not proceed by the proper route.