Journals Of Two Expeditions Of Discovery In North West And Western Australia Volume 1 (Of 2) - George Grey (best free e book reader txt) 📗

Had Now Passed It,  Proceeding On Our Route,  I Heard Several Remark,  "We

Shall Soon March Back Here Again." But This Evening I Had The Pleasure Of

Halting Under The Sandstone Range,  And The Very Hill We Had Wished To

Gain.

 

Recovery Of Buried Stores.

 

April 12.

 

We Marched Early,  And On The Way Passed More Native Tombs; When We Came

To The Place Where The Horse Had Been Left I Found That,  Through

Inadvertence On The Part Of The Man Who Led Him,  He Had Been Starved To

Death,  Having Been Left Tethered. This Discovery Shocked Me Much. Some Of

The Stores Which Had Been Left Where He Fell And Covered With A

Tarpaulinremained Uninjured. We Proceeded Onwards To The Camp Where I Had

Lain So Long Wounded,  And,  On Arriving Found All Our Provisions In Good

Order,  The Natives Apparently Not Having Since Visited The Spot. We Were

Not A Little Glad To Find Our Preserved Meats Which Had Been Left Buried

Here. Halted For The Night,  And Enjoyed Our Repast.

 

Precautions On Reaching Hanover Bay.

 

April 13.

 

After Digging Up Our Supply Of Preserved Meats Yesterday We Had Made

Rather More Free With Them Than Was Prudent In Men Who Had Been For So

Long A Time Compelled To Subsist Upon Very Scanty Fare,  And In

Consequence Had Been Nearly All Affected With Violent Sickness; And,  As

Six Of The Party,  Including Mr. Lushington And Myself,  Were Now Ill,  We

Did Not Start Very Early; The Remaining Ponies Were Also So Weak That

They Could Scarcely Carry Themselves,  And We Therefore Were Only Able To

Place Very Light Loads Upon Them.

 

I Have Already Described The Very Difficult Nature Of The Country We Had

To Traverse; But The Roads We Had Previously Constructed Through It

Proved Extremely Serviceable. So Little Had They Been Injured That They

Formed A Very Fair And Passable Line Of Communication. Early In The

Evening We Crossed The Lushington And Halted At The Summit Of The Cliffs

Which Formed Its Northern Bank.

 

April 14.

 

I Sent The Most Efficient Of The Party Back With The Horses For The

Remaining Stores Whilst With Four Men I Remained In Charge Of The Tents.

 

Anxiety On Approaching Hanover Bay.

 

Sunday April 15.

 

Our Anxiety To Ascertain If Any Accident Had Happened To The Schooner Now

Became Very Great: Since Such A Circumstance Was Of Course By No Means

Volume 1 Chapter 10 (Return To Hanover Bay) Pg 142

Impossible. As Our Position Would Then Have Been Very Precarious,  And Our

Only Chance Of Ultimate Safety Have Rested On The Most Exact Discipline

And Cautious Rules Of Conduct Being Observed From The Very First,  I

Thought It Would Be Most Prudent Not To Allow Such A Calamity (Had It

Occurred) To Burst Too Suddenly Upon The Men When They Were Quite

Unprepared For It.

 

Two Of Them Were Therefore Selected And,  Accompanied By These,  I Started

Before Daylight For The Sandy Beach In Hanover Bay; Leaving The Party To

Make The Best Of Their Way To The Heights Above The Valley Where We Had

First Encamped,  And Where Plenty Of Food And Water Could Be Found For The

Ponies; These,  In The Event Of Anything Having Happened To The Schooner,

Would Become The Mainstay Of Our Hopes.

 

These Arrangements Having Been Made We Moved Off Through The Rocky

Difficult Country We Had First Encountered: Every Step We Took Was Over

Well-Known Ground,  In Which No Change Had Taken Place Save That There

Were Evident Marks Of Bodies Of Natives Having Been In The Neighbourhood

Since Our Departure.

 

As I Proceeded Nearly In A Direct Line To Hanover Bay We Encountered Some

Difficulty From The Broken Character Of The Ground,  But About Eleven

O'clock Had Gained The Hilly Country At The Back Of The Beach,  From

Whence However We Could Not Obtain A View Of The Spot Where The Vessel

Lay. On Emerging From The Mangroves Upon The Beach We Saw Painted Upon

The Sandstone Cliffs,  In Very Large Letters,  "Beagle Observatory,  Letters

South-East 52 Paces."

 

Rejoin The Lynher. Meeting With The Beagle.

 

No One Who Has Not Been Similarly Situated Can At All Conceive The Thrill

Which Went Through Me When These Letters First Met My Eye; Even Had

Anything Happened To The Schooner,  Friends Were Upon The Coast,  And I

Knew That Captain Wickham,  Who Had Passed A Great Portion Of His Life In

Adventures Of This Kind,  Would Leave Nothing Undone Which Was In His

Power To Ensure Our Safety. We Now Hurried Across The Beach,  And On

Gaining The Highest Part Of It Saw The Little Schooner Riding Safely At

Anchor. A Gun Being Fired All Became Life And Expectation On Board The

Vessel; And Whilst The Boat Pulled Ashore We Searched For Our Letters.

These Had However Not Yet Been Deposited At The Spot Indicated,  And I

Therefore Conjectured That We Should Find Them On Board.

 

On Reaching The Vessel We Learnt That The Mate Was Gone To The Beagle,

Now Lying In Port George The Fourth But Expected To Sail This Very Day.

It Appeared That At 7 O'clock On The Morning Of The 8th The Report Of

Four Carronades Was Heard On Board The Schooner; This Was Conjectured By

All To Denote The Presence Of The Beagle On The Coast,  But The Echo Ran

From Cliff To Cliff With So Many Reverberations That None Could Tell From

What Direction The Sound Had Originally Proceeded. The Silence Of The

Night Was Not Again Disturbed; And Those On Board The Schooner Felt No

Volume 1 Chapter 10 (Return To Hanover Bay) Pg 143

Small Solicitude To Know If Their Conjectures Were Correct,  And If So In

What Direction The Beagle Lay.

 

Arrival Of The Beagle.

 

The Next Morning The Mystery Was Cleared Up. Before Noon A Yawl Was Seen

To Round The Headland And To Stand Across The Bay In The Direction Of The

Mouth Of Prince Regent's River. As Soon As The Schooner Was Recognised

The Yawl Altered Her Course,  And Captain Wickham Was Soon On Board The

Lynher,  Making Anxious Enquiries For Us And Ascertaining What Steps Could

Be Taken To Assist Us And Promote Our Views.

 

From That Time Up To The Present Date The Beagle Had Lain In Port George

The Fourth To Take In Wood,  Water,  Etc.,  And To Await The Return Of Mr.

Stokes,  Who Was Absent Exploring The Coast Between Collier's Bay And Port

George The Fourth.

 

As There Was No Time To Lose I At Once Started In A Boat For The Beagle,

And It Was Late In The Evening When We Drew Near It. I Could See Anxious

Groups Looking Eagerly At The Little Boat As It Drew Near,  And When At

Length We Were Recognised The Hearty Cheers That Greeted Us As We Came Up

Alongside Plainly Showed That The Pleasure Of Meeting Was Not Confined To

Ourselves.

 

Results Of Her Survey.

 

As Mr. Stokes Was Hourly Expected To Return,  And I Was Very Anxious To

Know If He Had Discovered The Mouth Of The Glenelg,  I Remained On Board

The Beagle And,  As All Had Much To Hear And Much To Communicate,  The

Evening Wore Rapidly Away. The Next Day Mr. Stokes Arrived,  Having Seen

Nothing Of The Mouth Of The River; This However In My Apprehension Arose

From The Greater Portion Of The Time They Were Absent Having Been Spent

In The Examination Of Collier's Bay,  Which Was The Point Of By Far The

Greatest Interest And Promise; And That Consequently They Were Compelled,

From Want Of Time And Supplies,  To Examine The Intervening Coastline Less

Narrowly Than Its Irregular Character Rendered Necessary. What Rather

Confirms This Opinion Is,  That Captain King,  In His Survey Of This Part,

States His Belief,  Drawn From Observation,  That It Is Indented With

Inlets Similar To Prince Regent's River,  Now This Is Exactly The

Character Of The Glenelg.

 

Mr. Stokes Described Camden Sound As Being One Of The Finest Harbours He

Had Seen; And,  Such Being The Case,  It Must Undoubtedly Be The Most

Important Position On This Part Of The Coast. It Lies Close To The

Glenelg And Prince Regent's River,  Two Large Navigable Streams; And I

Have Already Declared My Opinion That I Have Never Seen A Richer Tract Of

Country Than The Extensive Alluvial And Basaltic Districts In The

Neighbourhood Of The Glenelg,  And Under The Rare Circumstance Of Lying

Between Two Navigable Rivers Which Are Separated From Each Other By So

Volume 1 Chapter 10 (Return To Hanover Bay) Pg 144

Short An Interval.

 

Preparations For Reembarking.

 

Soon After Mr. Stokes's Arrival I Started For The Lynher,  And The Next

Morning Repaired On Shore. During My Absence On Board The Beagle Fourteen

Natives Had Made Their Appearance Near The Encampment On The Cliffs Above

The Valley; They Appeared However To Have Been Solely Attracted From

Motives Of Curiosity And A Desire To Visit Our Former Huts. From The

Fearful Disposition Which Had Hitherto Been Evinced By The Natives Of

These Parts It Was Necessary However That Every Precaution Should Be

Observed. This Was Most Carefully Done By Mr. Lushington; And As Soon As

The Natives Saw That They Were Watched They Moved Off And Were Not Again

Observed,  Although The Smokes Of Their Fires Were Visible In Several

Points.

 

On The 17th We Commenced Our Preparations For Leaving This Part Of The

Coast. The Stores Remaining Were All Carried On Board. We Had But Eleven

Ponies Left,  The Greater Number Of Which Were So Marked And Scarred From

Falls Amongst The Rocks That They Would Have Been Valueless If Brought To

Sale; Besides Which,  To Have Cut And Dried A Quantity Of Grass Sufficient

For Them Until We Reached The Isle Of France Would,  In The Burnt Up State

Of The Country,  Have Delayed Us Many Days,  Had We Even Succeeded At Last.

On The Other Hand,  If Left Free In The Bush,  Two Good Mares Which Were

Amongst Them Might Possibly Be The Means Of Giving A Very Valuable Race

Of Horses To This Country. These Considerations Determined Me; And The

Companions Of Our Weary Wanderings Were Turned Loose--A New Race Upon The

Land; And,  As We Trusted,  To Become The Progenitors Of A Numerous Herd.

 

State Of The Plants And Seeds Left At The Encampment.

 

Our Whole Residence In This Country Had Been Marked By Toils And

Sufferings. Heat,  Wounds,  Hunger,  Thirst,  And Many Other Things Had

Combined To Harass Us. Under These