Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley - Volume 2 - John MacGillivray (best novels of all time .txt) 📗

beauty of the terraced walks and overhanging gardens; the beautiful belladonna lily-here run wild in great abundance-made a fine show. At Point Greta the rock pigeons-the original stock of the domesticated race-were flying about in large flocks or sunning themselves on the sea cliffs. A heavy shower of rain, by bringing out the landshells, enabled me to pick up half-a-dozen species of Helix, Bulimus, and Pupa, at the foot of the hedgerows; I was anxious to procure some to ascertain whether any were non-European forms; one was even quite a new species. On a white-flowered convolvulus with succulent leaves, I found numbers of the caterpillars of a large hawk-moth (Sphinx convolvuli) which some ragged urchins who followed me showed great dread of, running away when I picked one up and shouting to me to throw it away, else I should die. One was afterwards brought on board by an English resident-as a very venomous reptile, which had caused three or four deaths during his stay on the island. The recurved horn on the tail has been regarded as a sting, and the poor harmless creature, having once got a bad name, is now by the Fayalese, in the absence of snakes or scorpions, made to supply their place.

The town of Horta contains, I was told, upwards of 10,000 inhabitants. It is prettily situated on the shores of a small bay, extending between two rocky headlands. The landing-place is at the remains of a mole under the walls of Fort Santa Cruz, the only one of numerous ruinous fortifications where a few guns are mounted; even these are in so wretched a condition that the commandant admitted that it would require several hours' preparation before they would be fit to return our expected salute, and seemed glad when told that as a surveying ship we were exempted from saluting the flags of other nations. A sea wall runs along the face of the town; parallel with this is the principal street, with others at rightangles extending up the hill, the narrow streets are clean and well paved-the houses, generally of one storey, are built of tough grey trachyte.

Almost every inch of available ground upon the island of Fayal has been turned to good account: Indian corn is the chief agricultural product. With our usual bad fortune in this respect we were too late for the grapes and the oranges had not yet come in. The lower grounds are divided into small enclosures by stone walls, and subdivided by rows of a tall stout reed (Arundo donax) resembling sugarcane. Although taxes and other burdens are heavy, and wages very low, yet to a mere visitor like myself there appeared none of those occasional signs of destitution which strike one in walking through a town at home, nor did I see a single beggar.

In Fayal and Pico the most careless observer from the anchorage of Horta can scarcely fail to associate the number of smooth conical hills with former volcanic activity; and in looking over Captain Vidal's beautiful charts of the Azores, nearly all the principal hills throughout the group are seen to have their craters or caldeiras. Fayal exhibits a fine specimen of one of these caldeiras in the central and highest part of the island. At an elevation of a little more than 3000 feet, we reached the ridge forming the margin of a circular crater, rather more than a mile in diameter, and 700 feet deep. The outer slope is gradual, but the inner walls are steep, deeply furrowed by small ravines and watercourses, and covered with grass, fern and heath-like bushes. The bottom contains a considerable extent of swampy meadowland, a shallow lagoon, and a small hill with a crater also partially filled with water. The view here is magnificent, enhanced, too, at times by the rolling volumes of mist overhead, at one moment admitting of a peep at the blue sky above, in the next concealing the rim of the crater and increasing in idea the height of its wall-like sides. The caldeira, I may add in conclusion, is said to have been formed during the last eruption of Fayal in 1672, but this statement appears to be very doubtful.

We resumed our homeward voyage on October 5th, and on November 9th, the Rattlesnake was paid off at Chatham, after having been in commission upwards of four years.

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ACCOUNT OF MR. E.B. KENNEDY'S EXPEDITION FOR THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAPE YORK PENINSULA, IN TROPICAL AUSTRALIA.

In addition to the brief account which already forms part of the Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, I have thought it would add to the interest of this work and the gratification of its readers, were I to give under a distinct head a detailed history of the exploring expedition conducted by the late Mr. Edmund B. Kennedy, derived from a pamphlet printed in Sydney, and scarcely procurable in this country. It includes the interesting narrative of Mr. W. Carron, the botanist attached to the expedition in question; also the statements of the aboriginal black who witnessed the death of his gallant master-of Dr. Vallack who took an active part in rescuing the survivors-and of Mr. T.B. Simpson who proceeded in search of the remainder of the party, whose fate was still in a measure uncertain, and succeeded in recovering some of Mr. Kennedy's papers.


NARRATIVE OF MR. W. CARRON.

We left Sydney on the 29th of April, 1848, in the barque Tam O'Shanter (Captain Merionberg) in company with H.M.S. Rattlesnake.

Our party consisted of the following persons: Mr. E.B. Kennedy (leader), Mr. W. Carron (botanist), Mr. T. Wall (naturalist), Mr. C. Niblet (storekeeper), James Luff, Edward Taylor, and William Costigan (carters), Edward Carpenter (shepherd), William Goddard, Thomas Mitchell, John Douglas, Dennis Dunn (labourers), and Jackey-Jackey, an aboriginal native of the Patrick's Plains tribe, of the Hunter River district.

Our supplies and equipment for the journey had been most fully considered, and were estimated by Mr. Kennedy as amply sufficient for a journey so short as what we then anticipated. Our livestock consisted of twenty-eight horses, one hundred sheep, three kangaroo dogs, and one sheep dog. Our dry provisions comprised one ton of flour, ninety pounds of tea, and six hundred pounds of sugar. Besides these necessary supplies for subsistence on the road, we took with us twenty-four pack-saddles, one heavy square cart, two spring carts, with harness for nine horses, four tents, a canvas sheepfold, twenty-two pounds gunpowder, one hundred and thirty pounds shot, a quarter cask of ammunition, twenty-eight tether ropes (each twenty-one yards long) forty hobble chains and straps, together with boxes, paper, etc., for preserving specimens, firearms, cloaks, blankets, tomahawks, and other minor requisites for such an expedition, not forgetting a supply of fish-hooks and other small articles, as presents for the natives.

After a tedious passage of twenty-two days, we arrived at Rockingham Bay on the 21st May; and even here, at the very starting point of our journey, those unforeseen difficulties began to arise, which led us subsequently to hardships so great and calamities so fatal.

On casting anchor, Mr. Kennedy, in company with Captain Merionberg, proceeded in a boat to examine the shores of the Bay, and to determine on a suitable landing-place for the horses, but returned in the evening without having been able to discover one.

The attempt was renewed the next morning, and continued during the entire day; and on the morning of the 23rd of May Mr. Kennedy and Captain Merionberg returned to the ship with the intelligence that they had discovered a spot where the horses might be landed with tolerable safety, and where, too, there was plenty of grass and water. This was an important desideratum, as we had lost one horse and eleven sheep on the voyage.

The water round the shores of the bay was very shallow, in consequence of which the vessel could not approach close inshore, but was compelled to cast anchor about a quarter of a mile off, and this distance the horses had to swim.

In the afternoon the vessel was anchored off the landing-place, and early on the following morning (May 24th) the tents, tether ropes, and sheepfold were taken ashore, with a party to take care of the horses when landed. At ten o'clock A.M., slings having been prepared, we commenced hoisting the horses out of the hold, and lowering them into the water alongside a boat, to the stern of which the head of each horse was secured, as it was pulled ashore. One horse was drowned in landing, but all the others were safely taken ashore during the day. The weather this day was very cold, with occasional showers of rain.

During the time occupied by landing the horses, a number of aboriginal natives assembled on the beach; they evinced no symptom of hostility, but appeared much surprised at our horses and sheep. White men they had frequently seen before, as parties have landed on the beach from surveying vessels.

We found no difficulty in making them comprehend that we desired to be friendly with them, and they advanced towards us with green boughs in their hands, which they displayed as emblems of peace. We met them with our arms extended and our hands open, indicating that we had no implements of war with us. We made them a present of two circular tin plates, with Mr. Kennedy's initials stamped upon them, and chains to hang them round the neck; we also gave them a few fish-hooks, and they accepted our presents with great demonstrations of pleasure. We made signs for them to sit down about 200 yards from the spot where the horses and sheep were being landed, and marking a line upon the sand we made them understand that they were not to cross it to approach us. One of our party was placed amongst them to enforce this regulation, which he did with little difficulty, although they expressed great curiosity as to various articles brought on shore from the ship.

These natives appeared to be very fine strong men, varying much in intelligence and disposition. I entered into such conversation with them as we were enabled to hold, and I soon found that while some were eagerly anxious to learn the names of different articles and their uses, others were perfectly indifferent about them.

We pitched our tents about two hundred yards from the beach, forming a square, with the sheepfold in the centre. Mr. Kennedy came on shore in the morning to superintend the arrangements, and after giving the necessary directions and instructions, returned to the ship. The party left ashore in charge consisted of myself, Wall, Dunn, Carpenter, and Douglas. Our provisions were supplied from the ship, in order that no time might be lost in getting all our stores and implements in proper order for starting.

A few yards from our camp was a freshwater creek, from which, although the tide ran into it about one hundred yards-where it was stopped by a small bank-we could obtain excellent water. The grass around was very long, and mostly of very coarse descriptions, consisting chiefly of a species of Uniola growing in tufts, and an Agrostis with creeping roots and broad blades; the horses seemed to like the Uniola best. A little to the northward of our camp were very high and almost perpendicular rocks, composed mostly of micaceous schist, covered with various epiphytal orchides and ferns.

The labour of the day being ended, and most of our stores landed, the greater number of our party came ashore to pass the night; and after having tethered the horses in fresh places, we assembled at supper, the materiel of which (beef and biscuit) was sent from the ship. We then took possession of our tents, one square