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AUSTRALIA
TWICE TRAVERSED:

C^e 3^omance of (Ejc^jloration,

BEING

A NARRATIVE COMPILED FROM THE JOURNALS

FIVE EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS

INTO AND THROUGH

Central South Australia^ and Western Australia^

From 1872 to 1876.

ERNEST ^ILES,

Felhw, and Cold Medallist^ of the Royal Geographical Society of London,

00 FORTH, MY BOOK. AND SHOW THE THINGS.
PILORIMAOE UNTO THE PILORIM BRINGS.

IN TWO VOLUMES.— VOL. L

WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

LONDON:
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE & RIVINGTON,

LIMITED,

St. ^nnstan'B ^ons^,
Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, E.G.

1889.

National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in- Publication entry
Giles. William Ernest Powell. 1835 - 1897.
Australia twice traversed.

Facsimile reprint. Originally published

London: Sampson Low, Marston, 5>earle and Rivington,

1889 Ferguson no. 9914

Bibliography

LSBN 86824 016 8 limited edition of 100 copies.

ISBN 86824 015 x

1. Ck'ntral Australia — Discovery and exploration
I. Title

919.4'2'04'3.

Printed by Macarthur Press (Books) Pty. Ltd. Sydney

CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

BOOK I.

CHAPTER I.

FROM 4TH TO 30TH AUGUST, 1 872.

The party — Port Augusta — The road — The Peake — Stony plcatcau —
Telegraph station — Natives formerly hostile — A new member —
Leave the Peake — Black boy deserts — Reach the Charlotte
Waters Station — Natives' account of other natives — Leave last
outpost — Reach the Finke — ^A Government party — A ride west-
ward — End of the stony plateau — A sandhill region — Chambers'
Pillar — The Moloch horridus — Thermometer 18° — The Finke —
Johnstone's range — A night alarm — Beautiful trees — Wild ducks
— A tributary — High dark hill — Coimtry rises in altitude — ^Very
high sandhills — Quicksands — New ranges — A brush ford — New
pigeon — Pointed hill — A clay pan — Christopher's Pinnacle —
Chandler's Range — Another new range — Sounds of running
water — First natives seen — Name of the river — A Central
Australian warrior — Natives burning the country — Name a new
creek — Ascend a mountain — ^Vivid green — Discover a glen and
more moimtains — Hot winds, smoke and ashes . 3-20

CHAPTER II.

FROM 30TH AUGUST TO 6tH SEPTEMBER, 1 87 2.

Milk thistle — In the glen — A serpentine and rocky road — Name a
new creek — Grotesque hills — Caves and caverns — Cypress pines
— More natives— Astonish them — Agreeable scenery — Sentinel
stars — Pelicans — Wild and picturesque scenery — More natives —
Palm-trees — A junction in the glen — High ranges to the north —
Palms and flowers — The Glen of Palms— Slight rain — Rain at
night — Plant various seeds — End of the glen — Its length—
Krichaufif Range — The northern range — Level country between —

vi CONTENTS.

A gorge — A flooded channel — Cross a western tributary — Wild
ducks — Ramble among the mountains — Their altitude — A
splendid panorama — Progress stopped by a torrent and im-
passable gorge 21-33

CHAPTER III.

FROM 6th to 17TH SEPTEMBER, 1 87 2.

Progress stopped — Fall back on a tributary — River flooded — A new
range — RudalPs Creek — Reach the range — Grass-trees^Wild
beauty of scene — Scarcity of water — A pea-like vetch — Name
the range — A barren spot — ^Water seen from it — Follow a creek
channel — Other creeks join it — ^A confined glen — Scrubby and
stony hills — Strike a gum creek — Slimy water — A pretty tree —
Flies troublesome — Emus — An orange-tree — Tropic of Capricorn
— Melodious sounds — Carmichael's Creek — Mountains to the
north — Ponds of water — A green plain — Clay-pan water — Fine
herbage — Kangaroos and emus numerous — ^A new tree — Agreeable
encampment — Peculiar mountains — High peak — Start to ascend
it — Game plentiful — Racecourse plain — Surrounded by scrubs —
A bare slope — A yawning chasm — Appearance of the peak —
Gleaming pools — Cypress pines — The tropic clime of youth —
Proceed westwards — Thick scrubs — Native method of procuring
water — A pine-clad hill — A watercourse to the south — A poor
supply of water — Skywards the only view — Horses all gone —
Increasing temperature — Attempt ascending high bluff — Timber-
less mountains — Beautiful flowers — Sultry night — Wretched
encampment — Depart from it . . • . . 34-48

CHAPTER IV.

FROM 17TH SEPTEMBER TO 1ST OCTOBER, 1872.

Search for the missing horses — Find one — Hot wind and flying sand
— Last horse recovered — Annoyed by flies — Mountains to the
west — Fine timber — Gardiner's Range — Mount Solitary — Follow
the creek — Dig a tank — Character of the country — Thunder-
storms — Mount Peculiar — A desolate region — Sandhills— Useless
rain — A bare granite hill — No water — Equinoctial gales — Search
for water — Find a rock reservoir — Native fig-trees — Gloomy and
desolate view — The old chain — Hills surrounded by scrubs —
More hills to the west— Difficult watering-place — Immortelles —
Cold weather — View from a hill — Renewed search for water —
Find a small supply — Almost unapproachable — Effects of the
spinifex on the horses — Pack-horses in scrubs — The Mus conditor
— Glistening micaceous hills — Unsuccessful search — Waterless
hill nine hundred feet high — Oceans of scrub — Retreat to last
reservoir — Natives* smokes — Night without water — Unlucky day

CONTENTS. vii

— ^Two horses lost — Recover them — Take a wrong turn — Difficulty
in watering the horses — An uncomfortable camp — Unsuccessful
searches — Mount Udor — Mark a tree — Tender-footed horses —
Poor feed — Sprinkling rain — Flies again troublesome — Start for
the western ranges — Difficult scrubs — Lonely camp — Horses
away — Reach the range — No water — Retreat to Mount Udor —
Slight rain — Determine to abandon this region — Corkwood
trees — Ants* nests — Glow-worms — Native poplar-trees — Peculiar
climate — Red gum-trees — ^A mare foals — Depart for the south —
Remarks on the country ...... 49-69

CHAPTER V.

FROM 1ST TO I5TH OCTOBER, 1 872.

A bluff hill — Quandong trees — The mulga-tree — Travel S.S.E. — Mare
left behind — Native peaches — Short of water — Large tree —
Timbered ridges — Horses suffer from thirst— Pine-trees — Native
encampments — Native paintings in caves — Peculiar crevice — A
rock tarn — A liquid prize — Caverns and caves — ^A pretty oasis —
Ripe figs — Recover the mare — Thunder and lightning — Orna-
mented caves — Hands of glory — A snake in a hole — Heavy dew
—Natives burning the country — A rocky eminence — Waterless
region — Cheerless view — A race of Salamanders — Circles of fire
— Wallaby and pigeons — Wallaby traps— Return to depot —
Water diminishing — Glen Edith — Mark trees — The tarn of Auber
— Landmarks to it — Seeds sown — Everything in miniature —
Journey south — Desert oaks — ^A better region — Kangaroos and
emus — Desert again — A creek channel — Water by scratching —
Find more — Splendid grass — Native signs — Farther south —
Beautiful green — Abundance of water — Follow the channel —
Laurie's Creek — Vale of Tempe — A gap or pass — Without water —
Well- grassed plain — Native well — Dry rock-holes — Natives' fires
— New ranges — High mountain — Return to creek — And Glen
Edith — Description of it 70-90

CHAPTER VI.

FROM I5TH OCTOBER, 1872, TO 3IST JANUARY, 1873.

viii CONTENTS,

Horse staked — Pleasure of a bath — ^A •journey eastward — Better
regions— A fine creek — Fine open country — King's Creek — Car-
michaePs Crag — Penny's Creek— Stokes's Creek — A swim —
Bagot's Creek — Termination of the range — Trickett's Creek —
George Gill's Range — Petermann's Creek — Return — Two natives
— A host of aborigines — Break up the depot — Improvement in
the horses — Carmichael's resolve — Levi's Range — Follow the
Petermann — Enter a glen — Up a tree — Rapid retreat — Escape
Glen — ^A new creek — Fall over a bank — Middleton's Pass — Good
country — Friendly natives— Rogers's Pass — Seymour's Range —
A fenced-in* water-hole— Briscoe's Pass — The Finke — Resight
the Pillar— Remarks on the Finke— Reach the telegraph line-
Native boys — I buy one — The Charlotte Waters— Colonel War-
burton — ^Arrive at the Peake — News of Dick— Reach Adelaide

BOOK II.

CHAPTER I.

FROM 4TH TO 22ND AUGUST, 1 873.

Leave for the west — Ascend the Alberga — ^An old building — Rain,
thunder, and lightning — Leave Alberga for the north-west —
Drenched in the night — Two lords of the soil — Get their congd —
Water-holes — Pretty amphitheatre — Scrubs on either side —
Watering the horses — A row of saplings — Spinifex and poplars —
Dig a tank — Hot wind — A broken limb — Higher hills — Flat-
topped hills — Singular cones— Better country — A horse staked —
Bluff-faced hills — The Anthony Range — Cool nights — Tent-
shaped hills — Fantastic mounds — Romantic valley — Picturesque
scene — A gum creek — Beautiful country — Gusts of fragrance —
New and independent hills — Large creek — Native well — Jimmy's
report — The Krichauff— Cold nights— Shooting blacks — Labor
omnia vincit — Thermometer 28° — Dense scrubs — Small creek —
Native pheasant's nest — Beautiful open ground — Charming view
— Rocks piled on rocks 143-155

CHAPTER IL

FROM 22ND AUGUST TO lOTH SEPTEMBER, 1873.

A poor water supply — Seeds planted — Beautiful country — Ride west-
ward — A chopped log — Magnetic hill — Singular scenery — Snail-
shells— Cheering prospect westward— A new chain of hills — A
nearer mountain — Vistas of green — Gibson finds water — Turtle
backs — Ornamented Troglodytes' caves — Water and emus — Beef-
wood-trees — Grassy lawns — Gum creek — Purple vetch — Cold
dewy night — Jumbled turtle backs — Tietkens returns — I proceed

CONTENTS. ix

— Two-storied native huts — Chinese doctrine— A wonderful moun-
tain — Elegant trees — Extraordinary ridge — ^A garden — Nature
imitates her imitator — Wild and strange view — Pool of water — A
lonely camp — Between sleeping and waking — Extract from Byron
for breakfast — Return for the party — Emus and water — Arrival of
Tietkens — ^A good camp — Tietkens's Birthday Creek — Ascend the
mountain— No signs of water — Gill's Range — Flat-topped hill —
The Everard Range — High mounts westward — Snail shells —
Altitude of the mountain— Pretty scenes — Parrot soup — The
sentinel — ^Thermometer 26° — Frost — Lunar rainbow — ^A charm-
ing spot — A pool of water — Cones of the main range — A new
pass — Dreams realised — A long glen — Glen Ferdinand — Mount
Ferdinand — The Reid — Large creek — Disturb a native nation —
Spears hurled — ^A regular attack — Repulse and return of the
enemy — Their appearance — Encounter Creek — Mount Officer —
The Currie — The Levinger — Excellent country — Horse-play —
Mount Davenport — Small gap — ^A fairy space — The Fairies' Glen
— Day dreams — Thermometer 24° — Ice — Mount Oberon —
Titania's spring — Horses bewitched — Glen Watson — Mount Olga
in view — The Musgrave Range 156-187

CHAPTER III.

FROM lOTH TO 30TH SEPTEMBER, 1 873.

Leave for Mount Olga — Change of scene — Desert oak-trees — The
Mann range — Eraser's Wells — Mount Olga's foot — Gosse's
expedition — Marvellous mountain — Running water — Black and
gold butterflies — Rocky bath — Ayers' Rock — Appearance of
Mount Olga — Irritans camp — Sugar-loaf Hill — Collect plants —
Peaches — A patch of better country — A new creek and glen —
Heat and cold — ^A pellucid pond — 2^e's Glen — Christy Bagot's
Creek — Stewed ducks — A lake — Hector's Springs and Pass —
Lake Wilson — Stevenson's Creek — Milk thistles — Beautiful
amphitheatre — A carpet of verdure — Green swamp — Smell of
camels — How I found Livingstone — Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit —
Cotton and salt bush flats— The Champ de Mars — Sheets of
water — Peculiar tree — Pleasing scene — Harriet's Springs — Water
in grass — ^Ants and burrs — Mount Aloysius — Across the border —
The Bell Rock 188-200

CHAPTER IV.

FROM 30TH SEPTEMBER TO QTH NOVEMBER, 1 873.

Native encampment — Fires alight — Hogarth's Wells — Mount Marie
and Mount Jeanuie — Pointed ranges to the west — Chop a passage
— Traces of volcanic action — Highly magnetic hills — The Leipoa
ocellata — Tapping pits — Glen Osborne — Cotton-bush flats —

CONTENTS,

Frowning bastion walls — Fort Mueller — A strong running stream
— Natives* smokes — Gosse returning — Limestone formation —
Native pheasants' nests — Egg-carrying — Mount Squires — The
Mus conditor*s nest — Difficulty with the horses — A small creek
and native well — Steer for the west — Night work — Very desolate
places — A circular storm — The Shoeing Camp — A bare hill — The
Cups — Fresh-looking creek — Brine and bitter water — The desert
pea — Jimmy and the natives — Natives prowling at night —
Searching for water — Horses suffering from thirst — Horseflesh —
The Cob — The camp on fire — Men and horses choking for water
— Abandon the place — Displeasing view — Native signs — Another
cup — Thermometer io6° — Return to the Cob — Old dry well — A
junction from the east — Green rushes — Another waterless camp —
Return to the Shoeing Camp — Intense cold — Biting dogs' noses
— A nasal organ — Boiling an egg — Tietkens and Gibson return
unsuccessful — Another attempt west — Country burnt by natives

20I-222

CHAPTER V.

FROM 9TH NOVEMBER TO 23RD DECEMBER, 1 873.

Alone — Native signs — A stinking pit — Ninety miles from water —
Elder's Creek— Hughes's Creek— The Colonel's Range — Rampart-
like range — Hills to the north-east — Jamieson's Range — Return
to Fort MueUer — Rain — Start for the Shoeing Camp once more —
Lightning Rock — Nothing like leather — Pharaoh's inflictions —
Photophobists — Hot weather — Fever and philosophy — Tietkens's
tank — (libson taken ill — Mysterious disappearance of water —
Earthquake shock — Concussions and falling rocks — The glen —
Cut an approach to the water — Another earthquake shock — A
bough-house — Gardens — A journey northwards — Pine-clad hills —
New line of ranges — Return to depot .... 223-245

CHAPTER VI.

FROM 23RD DECEMBER, 1873, TO i6tH JANUARY, 1874.

Primitive laundry — Natives troublesome in our absence — The ives —
Gibson's estimate of a straight heel — Christmas Day, 1873 —
Attacked by natives — A wild caroo — Wild grapes from a sandal-
wood-tree — More earthquakes — The moon on the waters —
Another journey northwards — Retreat to the depot — More rain at
the depot — Jimmy's escape — A " canis familiaris " — An innocent
lamb — Sage-bush scrubs — Groves of oak-trees — Beautiful green
flat — Crab-hole water— Bold and abrupt range— A glittering
cascade — Invisibly bright water — The murmur in the shell — A
shower bath — The Alice Falls— Ascend to the summit— A strange
view — Gratified at our discoveries — Return to Fort Mueller —
Digging with a tomahawk— Storing water — Wallaby for supper —

CONTENTS. xi

Another attack — Gibson's gardens — Opossums destructive —
Birds — Thoughts — Physical peculiarities of the region — Haunted
—Depart 246-264

CHAPTER VII.

FROM i6TH JANUARY TO I9TH FEBRUARY, 1874.

The Kangaroo Tanks — Horses stampede — Water by digging — Stag-
gering horses — Deep rock-reservoir — Glen Gumming — Mount
Russell— Glen Gerald— Glen Fielder— The Alice Falls— Separated
hills — Splendid-looking creek — Excellent country — The Pass of
the Abencerrages — Sladen Water — An alarm — Jimmy's anxiety
for a date — Mount Barlee — Mount Buttfield— ** Stagning " water
— Ranges coi>tinue to the west — ^A notch — Dry rocky basins —
Horses impounded — Desolation Glen — Wretched night — ^Terrible
Billy — ^A thick clump of gums — A strong and rapid stream — The
Stemodia viscosa— Head first in a bog — Leuhman's Spring —
Groener's and Tyndall's Springs — The Great Gorge — Fort
McKellar — The Gorge of Tarns — Ants again — Swim in the tarn
— View from summit of range — Altitude — Tatterdemalions — An
explorer's accomplishments — Cool and shady caves — Large rocky
tarn — The Circus — High red sandhills to the west — Ancient lake
bed — Burrowing wallabies — The North-west Mountain — Jimmy
and the grog bottle — The Rawlinson Range — Moth- and fly-
catching plant — An inviting mountain — Inviting valley — Fruitless
search for water — Ascend the mountain — Mount Robert — Dead
and dying horses — Description of the mob — Mount Destruction
— Reflections — Life for water — Hot winds — Retreat to Sladen
Water — Wild ducks — An ornithological lecture — Shift the camp
— Cockatoo parrots — Clouds of pigeons — Dragged by Diaway —
Attacked by the natives 265-298

CHAPTER VIIL

FROM 20TH FEBRUARY TO I2TH MARCH, 1 874.

Journey south-west — Glens and springs — Rough watering-place — A
marble bath — Glassy rocks — Swarms of ants — Solitary tree — An
oven — Terrible night — And day — Wretched appearance of the
horses — Mountains of sand — Hopeless view — Speculations — In
great pain — Horses in agony — Difficulty in watering them —
Another night of misery — Dante's Inferno — The waters of
oblivion — Return to the pass — Dinner of carrion — A smoke-house
— A tour to the east — Singular pinnacle — Eastern ranges — A
gum creek — Basins 01 water — Natives all around — Teocallis —
Horrid rites — A chip of the old block — A wayside inn — Gordon's
Springs 299-317

ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. I.

PACK

Portrait of Author .... Frontispiece

Chambers' Pillar 9

The Moloch Horridus 10

View in the Glen of Palms to face 23

Palm-tree found in the Glen of Palms ... 25

Glen Edith 85

Penny's Creek iii

Escape Glen — ^The Advance 122

„ The Retreat 123

Middleton's Pass and Fish Ponds . . to face 124

Junction of the Palmer and the Finke . .126

An Incident of Travel 147

TiETKENs's Birthday Creek and Mount Carnarvon to face 168

On Birthday Creek ,,171

Encounter with Natives at "The Officer," Mus-

GRAVE Range ,,176

The Fairies' Glen ,,184

ZoE's Glen 193

The Stinking Pit 227

Attack at Fort Mueller .... tofac^ 260

Dragged by Diaway „ 295

Attack at Sladen Water .... ,,297

Gill's Pinnacle ,,316

Maps.

First Expedition, 1872

Second Expedition, 1873-4

Australia, showing the Several Routes

AUTHOR'S NOTES.

The original journals of the field notes, from which the
present narrative is compiled, were published, as each
expedition ended, as parliamentary papers by the Govern-
ment of the Colony of South Australia.

The journals of the first two expeditions, formed a small
book, which was distributed mostly to the patrons who had
subscribed to the fund for my second expedition. The
account of the third, found its way into the South Austra-
lian Observer^ while the records of the fourth and fifth
journeys remained as parliamentary documents, the whole
never having appeared together. Thus only fragments
of the accounts of my wanderings became known ; and
though my name as an explorer has been heard of, both in
Australia and England, yet very few people even in the
Colonies are aware of what I have really done. Therefore
it was thought that a work embodying the whole of my
explorations might be acceptable to both English and
Colonial readers.

Some years have been allowed to elapse since these
journeys were commenced ; but the facts are the same, and
to those not mixed up in the adventures, the incidents as
fresh as when they occurred.

Unavoidably, I have had to encounter a large area of
desert country in the interior of the colonies of South
Australia, and Western Australia, in my various wander-
ings; but I also discovered considerable tracts of lands
watered and suitable for occupation.

It is not in accordance with my own feelings in regard
to Australia that I am the chronicler of her poorer regions ;
and although an Englishman, Australia has no sincerer
well-wisher ; had it been otherwise, I could not have per-
formed the work these volumes record. It has indeed
been often a cause of regret that my lines of march should
have led me away from the beautiful and fertile places
upon Australia's shores, where our countrymen have made
their homes.

xiv A UTHOR'S NOTES.

On the subject of the wonderful resources of Australia
I am not called upon to enlarge, and surely all who have
heard her name must have heard also of her gold, copper,
wool, wine, beef, mutton, wheat, timber, and other products ;
and if any other evidence were wanting to show what
Australia really is, a visit to her cities, and an experience
of her civilisation, not forgetting the great revenues of her
different provinces, would dispel at once all previous
inaccurate impressions of those who, never having seen,
perhaps cannot believe in the existence of them.

In the course of this work my reader will easily discover
to whom it is dedicated, without a more formal statement
under such a heading. The preface, which may seem out
of its place, is merely such to my own journeys. I thought
it due to my readers and my predecessors in the Australian
field of discovery, that I should give a rapid epitome (which
may contain some minor errors) of what they had done,
and which is here put forward by way of introduction.

Most of the illustrations, except one or two photographs,
were originally from very rough sketches, or I might rather
say scratches, of mine, improved upon by Mr. Val Prinsep,
of Perth, Western Australia, who drew most of the plates
referring to the camel expeditions, while those relating to
the horse journeys were sketched by Mr. Woodhouse, Junr.,
of Melbourne ; the whole, however, have undergone a
process of reproduction at the hands of London artists.

To Mrs. Cashel Hoey, the well-known authoress and
Australian correspondent, who revised and cleared my
original MSS., I have to accord my most sincere thanks.
To Mr. Henniker-Heaton, M.P., who appears to be the
Imperial Member in the British Parliament for all Aus-
tralia, I am under great obligations, he having introduced
me to Mr. Marston, of the publishing firm who have pro-
duced these volumes. I also have to thank Messrs. Clowes
and Sons for the masterly way in which they have printec
this work. Also Messrs. Creed, Robinson, Fricker, and
Symons, of the publishing staff. The maps have been
reproduced by Weller, the well-known geographer.

INTRODUCTION.

Before narrating my own labours in opening out
portions of the unknown interior of Australia, it
will be well that I should give a succinct account of
what others engaged in the same arduous enterprise
around the shores and on the face of the great
Southern Continent, have accomplished.

After the wondrous discoveries of Columbus had
set the Old World into a state of excitement, the
finding of new lands appears to have become the
romance of that day, as the exploration by land of
unknown regions has b.een that of our time ; and in
less than fifty years after the discovery of America
navigators were searching every sea in hopes of
emulating the deeds of that great explorer; but
nearly a hundred years elapsed before it became
known in Europe that a vast and misty land
existed in the south, whose northern and western
shores had been met in certain latitudes and longi-
tudes, but whose general outline had not been
traced, nor was it even then visited with anything
like a systematic geographical object. The fact of
the existence of such a land at the European
antipodes no doubt set many ardent and adven-
turous spirits upon the search, but of their exploits
and labours we know nothing.

xvi INTR OD UCTION,

The Dutch were the most eager in their attempts,
although Torres, a Spaniard, was, so far as we
know, the first to pass in a voyage from the West
Coast of America to India, between the Indian or
Malay Islands, and the great continent to the
south ; hence we have Torres Straits. The first
authentic voyager, however, to our actual shores
was Theodoric Hertoge, subsequently known as
Dirk Hartog — bound from Holland to India. He
arrived at the western coast between the years
1610 and 1 61 6. An island on the west coast bears
his name : there he left a tin plate nailed to a tree
with the date of his visit and the name of his ship,
the Endragt, marked upon it. Not very long after
Theodoric Hertoge, and still to the western and
north-western coasts, came Zeachern, Edels, Nuitz,
De Witt, and Pelsart, who was wrecked upon
Houtman's Albrolhos, or rocks named by Edels, in
his ship the Leewin or Lion. Cape Leewin is
called after this vessel. Pelsart left two convicts on
the Australian coast in 1629. Carpenter was the
next navigator, and all these adventurers have
indelibly affixed their names to portions of the
coast of the land they discovered. The next, and
a greater than these, at least greater in his navi-
gating successes, was Abel Janz Tasman, in 1642.
Tasman was instructed to inquire from the native
inhabitants for Pelsart's two convicts, and to bring
them away with him, if they entreated hint; but
they were never heard of again. Tasman sailed
round a great portion of the Australian coast, dis-
covered what he named Van Dieman s land, now
Tasmania, and New Zealand. He it was who
called the whole, believing it to be one. New

INTRODUCTION. xvii

Holland, after the land of his birth. Next we have
Dampier, an English buccaneer — though the name
sounds very like Dutch ; it was probably by chance
only that he and his roving crew visited these
shores. Then came Wilhelm Vlaming with three
ships. God save the mark to call such things ships.
How the men performed the feats they did, wan-
dering over vast and unknown oceans, visiting
unknown coasts with iron-bound shores, beset with
sunken reefs, subsisting on food not fit for human
beings, suffering from scurvy caused by salted diet
and rotten biscuit, with a short allowance of water,
in torrid zones, and liable to be attacked and killed
by hostile natives, it is difficult for us to conceive.
They suffered all the hardships it is possible to
imagine upon the sea, and for what t for fame, for
glory ? That their names and achievements might
be handed down to us ; and this seems to have been
Aeir only reward ; for there was no Geographical
Society's medal in those days with its motto to spur
them on.

Vlaming was the discoverer of the Swan River,
upon which the seaport town of Freemantle and
the picturesque city of Perth, in Western Australia,
now stand. This river he discovered in 1697, and
he was the first who saw Dirk Hartog's tin plate.

Dampier's report of the regions he had visited
caused him to be sent out again in 1710 by the
British Government, and upon his return, all pre-
vious doubts, if any existed, as to the reality of the
existence of this continent, were dispelled, and the
position of its western shores was well established.
Dampier discovered a beautiful flower of the pea
family known as the Clianthus Dampierii. In 1845

VOL. I. b

xviii INTRODUCTION.

Captain Sturt found the same flower on his Central
Australian expedition, and it is now generally
known as Sturts Desert Pea, but it is properly
named in its botanical classification, after its original
discoverer.

After Dampier s discoveries, something like sixty
years elapsed before Cook appeared upon the scene,
and it was not until his return to England that
practical results seemed likely to accrue to any
nation from the far-off land. I shall not recapitu-
late Cook's voyages ; the first fitted out by the
British -Government was made in 1768, but Cook
did not touch upon Australia's coast until two years
later, when, voyaging northwards along the eastern
coast, he anchored at a spot he called Botany Bay,
from the brightness and abundance of the beautiful
wild flowers he found growing there. Here two
natives attempted to prevent his landing, although
the boats were manned with forty men. The
natives threw stones and spears at the invaders, but
nobody was killed. At this remote and previously
unvisited spot one of the crew named Forby Suther-
land, who had died on board the Endeavour, was
buried, his being the first white man's grave ever
dug upon Australia's shore ; at least the first
authenticated one — for might not the remaining one
of the two unfortunate convicts left by Pelsart have
dug a grave for his companion who was the first to
die, no man remaining to bury the survivor?
Cook s route on this voyage was along the eastern
coast from Cape Howe in south latitude 37° 30' to
Cape York in Torres Straits in latitude 10° 40'.
He called the country New South Wales, from its
fancied resemblance to that older land, and he took

INTRODUCTION. xix

possession of the whole in the name of George III.
as England's territory.

Cook reported so favourably of the regions he
had discovered that the British Government decided
to establish a colony there ; the spot finally selected
was at Port Jackson, and the settlement was called
Sydney in 1 788. After Cook came the Frenchman
Du Fresne and his unfortunate countryman, La
Pirouse. Then Vancouver, Blyth, and the French
General and Admiral, D'Entre-Casteaux, who went
in search of the missing La P^'ouse. In 1826, Cap-
tain Dillon, an English navigator, found the stranded
remains of La P6rouse s ships at two of the Char-
lotte Islands group. We now come to another
great English navigator, Matthew Flinders, who
was the first to circumnavigate Australia ; to him
belongs the honour of having given to this great
island continent the name it now bears. In 1798,
Flinders and Bass, sailing in an open boat from
Sydney, discovered that Australia and Van Die-
mans Land were separate; the dividing straits
between were then named after Bass. In 1802,
during his second voyage in the Investigator, a
vessel about the size of a modem ship s launch.
Flinders had with him as a midshipman John
Franklin, afterwards the celebrated Arctic naviga-
tor. On his return to England, Flinders, touching
at the Isle of France, was made prisoner by the
French governor and detained for nearly seven
years, during which time a French navigator
Nicolas Baudin, with whom came Perron and Lace-
pede the naturalists, and whom Flinders had met at
a part of the southern coast which he called En-
counter Bay in reference to that meeting, claimed

b 2

XX INTRODUCTION.

and reaped the honour and reward of a great
portion of the unfortunate prisoner s work. Alas
for human hopes and aspirations, this gallant sailor
died before his merits could be acknowledged or
rewarded, and I believe one or two of his sisters
were, until very lately, living in the very poorest
circumstances.

The name of Flinders is, however, held in greater
veneration than any of his predecessors or succes-
sors, for no part of the Australian coast was un-
visited by him. Rivers, mountain ranges, parks,
districts, counties, and electoral divisions, have all
been named after him ; and, indeed, I may say the
same of Cook ; but, his work being mostly confined
to the eastern coast, the more western colonies are
not so intimately connected with his name, although
an Australian poet has called him the Columbus of
our shore.

After Flinders and Baudin came another French-
man,* De Fr^ycinet, bound on a touF of discovery all
over the world.

Australia's next navigator was Captain, subse-
quently Admiral, Philip Parker King, who car-
ried out four separate voyages of discovery, mostly
upon the northern coasts. At three places upon
which King favourably reported, namely Camden
Harbour on the north-west coast, Port Essington
in Amhiem's Land, and Port Cockburn in Apsley
Straits, between Melville and Bathurst Islands on
the north coast, military and penal settlements were
established, but from want of further emigration
these were abandoned. King completed a great
amount of marine surveying on these voyages,
which occurred between the years 1813 and 1822.

INTRODUCTION. xxi

Captain Wickham in the Beagle comes next ; he
discovered the Fitzroy River, which he found
emptied itself into a gulf named King s Sound. In
consequence of ill-health Captain Wickham, after
but a short sojourn on these shores, resigned his
command, and Lieutenant Lort Stokes, who had
sailed with him in the Beagle round the rocky
shores of Magellan's Straits and Tierra del Fuego,
received the command from the Lords of the Admi-
ralty. Captain Lort Stokes may be considered the
last, but by no means the least, of the Australian
navigators. On one occasion he was speared by
natives of what he justly called Treachery Bay,
near the mouth of the Victoria River in Northern
Australia, discovered by him. His voyages occurred
between the years 1839 and 1843. He discovered
the mouths of most of the rivers that fall into the
Gulf of Carpentaria, besides many harbours, bays,
estuaries, and other geographical features upon the
North Australis^n coasts.

The early navigators had to encounter much
difficulty and many dangers in their task of making
surveys from the rough achievements of the Dutch,
down to the more finished work of Flinders, King,
and Stokes. It is to be remembered that they
came neither for pleasure nor for rest, but to dis-
cover the gulfs, bays, peninsulas, mountains, rivers
and harbours, as well as to make acquaintance with
the native races, the soils, and animal and vege-
table products of the great new land, so as to diffuse
the knowledge so gained for the benefit of others
who might come after them. In cockle-shells of
little ships what dangers did they not encounter
from shipwreck on the sunken edges of coral ledges

Tcxii INTRODUCTION.

of the new and shallow seas, how many were those
who were never heard of again ; how many a'little
exploring bark with its adventurous crew have been
sunk in Australia's seas, while those poor wretches
who might, in times gone by, have landed upon the
inhospitable shore would certainly have been killed
by the wild and savage hordes of hostile aborigines,
from whom there could be no escape ! With Stokes
the list of those who have visited and benefited
Australia by their labours from the sea must close ;
my only regret being that so poor a chronicler is
giving an outline of their achievements. I now
turn to another kind of exploration — and have to
narrate deeds of even greater danger, though of a
different kind, done upon Australia's face.

In giving a short account of those gallant men
who have left everlasting names as explorers upon
the terra firnta and terra incognita of our Australian
possession, I must begin with the earliest, and go
back a hundred years to the arrival of Governor
Phillip at Botany Bay, in 1788, with eleven ships,
which have ever since been known as The First
Fleet. I am not called upon to narrate the history
of the settlement, but will only say that the Governor
showed sound judgment when he removed his fleet
and all his men from Botany Bay to Port Jackson,
and founded the village of Sydney, which has now
become the huge capital city of New South Wales.
A new region was thus opened out for British
labour, trade, capital, and enterprise. From the
earliest days of the settlement adventurous and
enterprising men, among whom was the Governor
himself, who was on one occasion speared by the
natives, were found willing to venture their lives in

INTROD UCTION. xxiu

the exploration of the country upon whose shores
they' had so lately landed. Went worth, Blaxland,
and Evans appear on the list as the very first
explorers by land. The chief object they had in
view was to surmount the difficulties which opposed
their attempting to cross the Blue Mountains, and
Evans was the first .who accomplished this. The
first efficient exploring expedition into the interior
of New South Wales was conducted by John Oxley,
the Surveyor-General of the colony, in 1817. His
principal discovery was that some of the Australian
streams ran inland, towards the interior, and he
traced both the Macquarie and the Lachlan, named
by him after Governor Lachlan Macquarie, until he
supposed they ended in vast swamps or marshes,
and thereby founded the theory that ia the centre of
Australia there existed a great inland sea. After
Oxley came two explorers named respectively
Howel and Hume, who penetrated, in 1824, from
the New South Wales settlements into what is now
the colony of Victoria. They discovered the upper
portions of the River Murray, which they crossed
somewhere in the neighbourhood of the present
town of Albury. The river was then called the
Hume, but it was subsequently called the Murray
by Captain Charles Sturt, who heads the list of
Australia's heroes with the title of The Father of
Australian Exploration.

In 1827 Sturt made one of the greatest discoveries
of this century — or at least one of the most useful
for his countrymen — that of the River Darling, the
great western artery of the river system of New
South Wales, and what is now South-western
Queensland. In another expedition, in 1832, Sturt

xxi V INTR on UCTION.

traced the Murrumbidgee River, discovered by
Oxley, in boats, into what he called the Murray.
This river is the same found by Howel and Hume,
Sturt's name for it having been adopted. He en-
tered the new stream, which was lined on either
bank by troops of hostile natives, from whom he
had many narrow escapes, and found it trended for
several hundreds of miles in a west-north-west
direction, confirming him in his idea of an inland
sea ; but at a certain point, which he called the
great north-west bend, it suddenly turned south and
forced its way to the sea at Encounter Bay, where
Flinders met Baudin in 1803. Neither of these
explorers appear to have discovered the river s
mouth. On this occasion Sturt discovered the
province or colony of South Australia, which in
1837 was proclaimed by the British Government,
and in that colony Sturt afterwards made his home.
Sturt's third and final expedition was from the
colony of South Australia into Central Australia, in
1843-1845. This was the first truly Central Aus-
tralian expedition that had yet been despatched,
although in 1841 Edward Eyre had attempted the
same arduous enterprise. Of this I shall write anon.
On his third expedition Sturt discovered the
Barrier, the Grey, and the Stokes ranges, and
among numerous smaller watercourses he found and
named Strezletki's, Coopers, and Eyres Creeks.
The latter remained the furthest known inland water
of Australia for many years after Sturt's return.
Sturt was accompanied, as surveyor and draftsman,
by John McDouall Stuart, whom I shall mention in
his turn. So far as my opinion, formed in my
wanderings over the greater portions of the country

INTR OD UCTION, xxv

explored by Sturt, goes, his estimate of the regions
he visited has scarcely been borne out according to
the views of the present day.

Like Oxley, he was fully impressed with the
notion that an inland sea did exist, and although
he never met such a feature in his travels, he
seems to have thought it must be only a little more
remote than the parts he had reached. He was
fully prepared to come upon an inland sea, for he
carried a boat on a bullock waggon for hundreds of
miles, and when he finally abandoned it he writes :
" Here we left the boat which I had vainly hoped
would have ploughed the waters of an inland sea."
Several years afterwards I discovered pieces of this
boat, built of New Zealand pine, in the debris of a
flood about twenty miles down the watercourse
where it had been left. A great portion, if not all
the country, explored by that expedition is now
highly-prized pastoral land, and a gold field was
discovered almost in sight of a depot formed by
Sturt, at a spot where he was imprisoned at a water
hole for six months without moving his camp. He
described the whole region as a desert, and he seems
to have been haunted by the notion that he had got
into and was surrounded by a wilderness the like of
which no human being had ever seen or heard of
before. His whole narrative is a tale of suffering
and woe, and he says on his map, being at the
furthest point he attained in the interior, about
forty-five miles from where he had encamped on the
watercourse he called Eyre's Creek, now a watering
place for stock on a Queensland cattle run : ** Halted
at sunset in a country such as I verily believe has
no parallel upon the earth's surface, and one which

xxvi INTRODUCTION,

was terrible in its aspect." Sturt s views are only to
be accounted for by the fact that what we now call
excellent sheep and cattle country appeared to him
like a desert, because his comparisons were made
with the best alluvial lands he had left near the
coast. Explorers as a rule, great ones more parti-
cularly, are not without rivals in so honourable a
field as that of discovery, although not every one
who undertakes the task is fitted either by nature or
art to adorn the chosen part. Sturt was rivalled
by no less celebrated an individual than Major,
afterwards Sir Thomas, Mitchell, a soldier of the
Peninsula War, and some professional jealousy
appears to have existed between them.

Major Mitchell was then the Surveyor-General of
the Colony, and he entirely traversed and made
known the region he appropriately named Australia
Felix, now the colony of Victoria. Mitchell, like
Sturt, conducted three expeditions: the first in
1 831-1832, when he traced the River Darling pre-
viously discovered by Sturt, for several hundred
miles, until he found it trend directly to the locality
at which Sturt, in his journey down the Murray, had
seen and laid down its mouth or junction with the
larger river. Far up the Darling, in latitude 30° 5',
Mitchell built a stockade and formed a depot, which
he called Fort Bourke ; near this spot the present
town of Bourke is situated and now connected by
rail with Sydney, the distance being about 560 miles.
Mitchell's second journey, when he visited Australia
Felix, -was made in 1835, ^i^d his last expedition
into tropical Australia was in 1845. On this expe-
dition he discovered a large river running in a north-
westerly direction, and as its channel was so large, and

INTRODUCTION. xxvii

its general appearance so grand, he conjectured that
it would prove to be the Victoria River of Captain
Lort Stokes, and that it would run on in probably
increasing size, or at least in undiminished magni-
ficence, through the iioo or 1200 miles of country
that intervened between his own and Captain
Stokes's position. He therefore called it the Vic-
toria River. Gregory subsequently discovered that
Mitchells Victoria turned south, and was one and
the same watercourse called Cooper's Creek by
Stiut. The upper portion of this watercourse is
now known by its native name of the Barcoo, the
name Victoria being ignored. Mitchell always had
surveyors with him, who chained as he went every
yard of the thousands of miles he explored. He
was knighted for his explorations, and lived to
enjoy the honour ; so indeed was Sturt, but in his
case it was only a mockery, for he was totally blind
and almost on his death-bed when the recognition
of his numerous and valuable services was so tardily
conferred upon him.*

These two great travellers were followed by, or
worked simultaneously, although in a totally dif-
ferent part of the continent, viz. the north-west coast,
with Sir George Grey in 1 837-1 839. His labours
and escapes from death by spear wounds, shipwreck,
starvation, thirst, and fatigue, fill his volumes with
incidents of the deepest interest. Edward Eyre,
subsequently known as Governor Eyre, made an
attempt to reach, in 1 840-1 841, Central Australia
by a route north from the city of Adelaide ; and as

* Dr. W. H. Browne, who accompanied Sturt to Central Aus-
tralia in 1843-5 ^ surgeon and naturalist, is living in London ;
and another earlier companion of the Father of Australian
Exploration, George McCleay, still survives.

xxviii INTRODUCTION,

Sturt imagined himself surrounded by a desert, so
Eyre thought he was hemmed in by a circular or
horse-shoe-shaped salt depression, which he called
Lake Torrens ; because, wherever he tried to push
northwards, north-westwards, eastwards, or north-
eastwards, he invariably came upon the shores of
one of these objectionable and impassable features.
As we now know, there are several of them with
spaces of traversable ground between, instead of
the obstacle being one continuous circle by which he
supposed he was surrounded. In consequence of
his inability to overcome this obstruction, Eyre gave
up the attempt to penetrate into Central Australia,
but pushing westerly, round the head of Flinders',
Spencers, Gulf, where now the inland seaport
town of Port Augusta stands, he forced his way
along the coast line from Port Lincoln to Fowler's
Bay (Flinders), and thence along the perpendicular
cliffs of the great Australian Bight to Albany, at
King George's Sound.

This journey of Eyre's was very remarkable in
more ways than one ; its most extraordinary inci-
dent being the statement that his horses travelled
for seven days and nights without water. I have
travelled with horses in almost every part of Aus-
tralia, but I know that after three days and three
nights without water horses would certainly knock
up, die, or become utterly useless, and it would
be impossible to make them continue travelling.
Another remarkable incident of his march is strange
enough. One night whilst Eyre was watching the
horses, there being no water at the encampment,
Baxter, his only white companion, was murdered by
two little black boys belonging to South Australia,
who had been with Eyre for some time previously.

INTRODUCTION. xxix

These little boys shot Baxter and robbed the camp
of nearly all the food and ammunition it contained,
and then, while Eyre was running up from the
horses to where Baxter lay, decamped into the bush
and were only seen the following morning, but never
afterwards. One other and older boy, a native of
Albany, whither Eyre was bound, now alone re-
mained. Eyre and this boy (Wylie) now pushed
on in a starving condition, living upon dead fish or
anything they could find for several weeks, and
never could have reached the Sound had they not,
by almost a miracle, fallen in with a French whaling
schooner when nearly 300 miles had yet to be
traversed. The captain, who was an Englishman
named Rossiter, treated them most handsomely ; he
took them on board for a month while their horses
recruited on shore — for this was a watering place of
Flinders — he then completely refitted them with
every necessary before he would allow them to
depart. Eyre in gratitude called the place Rossiter
Bay, but it seems to have been prophetically chris-
tened previously by the ubiquitous Flinders, under
the name of Lucky Bay. Nearly all the watering
places visited by Eyre consisted of the drainage
from great accumulations of pure white sand or
hummocks, which were previously discovered by the
Investigator; as Flinders himself might well have
been called. The most peculiar of these features is
the patch at what Flinders called the head of
the Great Australian Bight ; these sandhills rise to
an elevation of several hundred feet, the prevailing
southerly winds causing them to slope gradually
from the south, while the northern face is precipi-
tous. In moonlight I have seen these sandhills, a
few miles away, shining like snowy mountains, being

XXX INTRODUCTION.

refracted to an unnatural altitude by the bright
moonlight. Fortunate indeed it was for Eyre that
such relief was afforded him ; he was unable to
penetrate at all into the interior, and he brought
back no information of the character and nature of
the country inland. I am the only traveller who
has explored that part of the interior, but of this
more hereafter.

About this time Strezletki and McMillan, both
from New South Wales, explored the region now
the easternmost part of the colony of Victoria,
which Strezletki called Gipp's Land. These two
explorers were rivals, and both, it seems, claimed to
have been first in that field.

Next on the list of explorers comes Ludwig
Leichhardt, a surgeon, a botanist, and an eager
seeker after fame in the Australian field of dis-
covery, and whose memory all must revere. He
successfully conducted an expedition from Moreton
Bay to the Port Essington of King — on the northern
coast — by which he made known the geographical
features of a great part of what is now Queensland,
the capital being Brisbane at Moreton Bay. A
settlement had been established at Port Essington
by the Government of New South Wales, to which
colony the whole territory then belonged. At this
settlement, as being the only point of relief after
eighteen months of travel, Leichhardt and his
exhausted party arrived. The settlement was a
military and penal one, but was ultimately aban-
doned. It is now a cattle station in the northern
territory division of South Australia, and belongs to
some gentlemen in Adelaide.

Of Leichhardt s sad fate in the interior of Aus-
tralia no tidings have ever been heard. On this

INTR on UCTION, xxxi

fatal journey, which occurred in 1848, he undertook
the too gigantic task of crossing Australia from
east to west, that is to say, from More ton Bay to
Swan River. Even at that period, however, the
eastern interior was not all entirely unknown, as
Mitchells Victoria River or Barcoo, and the
Coopers and Eyre's Creeks of Sturt had already
been discovered. The last-named watercourse lay
nearly 1000 miles from the eastern coast, in lati-
tude 25° south, and it is reasonable to suppose that
to such a point Leichhardt would natuarlly direct
his course — indeed in what was probably his last
letter, addressed to a friend, he mentions this water-
course as a desirable point to make for upon his
new attempt. But where his wanderings ended,
and where the catastrophe that closed his own and
his companions' lives occurred, no tongue can tell.
After he finally left the furthest outlying settle-
ments at the Mount Abundance station, he, like
the lost Pleiad, was seen on earth no more. How
could he have died and where ? ah, where indeed ?
I who have wandered into and returned alive from
the curious regions he attempted and died to
explore, have unfortunately never come across a
single record or any remains or traces of those long
lost but unforgotten braves. Leichhardt originally
started on his last sad venture with a party of eight,
including one if not two native black boys. Owing,
however, to some disagreement, the whole party
returned to the starting point, but being reorganised
it started again with the same number of members.
There were about twenty head of bullocks broken in
to carry pack-loads ; this was an ordinary custom in
those early days of Australian settlement. Leich-

xxxii INTRODUCTION.

hardt also had two horses and five or six mules :
this outfit was mostly contributed by the settlers
who gave, some flour, some bullocks, some money,
firearms, gear, &c., and some gave sheep and goats ;
he had about a hundred of the latter. The packed
bullocks were taken to supply the party with beef,
in the meantime carrying the expedition stores.
The bullocks' pack-saddles were huge, ungainly
frames of wood fastened with iron-work, rings, &c.

Shortly after the expedition made a second start,
two or three of the members again seceded, and
returned to the settlements, while Leichhardt and
his remaining band pushed farther and farther to
the west.

Although the eastern half of the continent is now
inhabited, though thinly, no traces of any kind,
except two or three branded trees in the valley of
the Cooper, have ever been found. My belief is
that the only cause to be assigned for their destruc-
tion is summed up in the dread word ** flood."
They were so far traced into the valley of the
Cooper ; this creek, which has a very lengthy
course, ends in Lake Eyre, one of the salt depres-
sions which baffled that explorer. A point on the
southern shore is now known as Eyre's Lookout.

The Cooper is known in times of flood to reach
a width of between forty and fifty miles, the whole
valley being inundated. Floods may surround a
traveller while not a drop of local rain may fall,
and had the members of this expedition perished
in any other v/ay, some remains of iron pack-
saddle frames, horns, bones, skulls, firearms, and
other articles must have been found by the native
inhabitants who occupied the region, and would

INTRODUCTION, x%xi\\

long ago have been pointed out by the aborigines
to the next comers who inyaded their territories.
The length of time that animals' bones might
remain intact in the open air in Australia is exem-
plified by the fact that in 1870, John Forrest found
the skull of a horse in one of Eyre s camps on the
cliffs of the south coast thirty years after it was
left there by Eyre. Forrest carried the skull to
Adelaide. I argue, therefore, that if Leichhardt's
animals and equipment had not been buried by a
flood, some remains must have been since found, for
it is impossible, if such things were above ground,
that they could escape the lynx-like glances of
Australian aboriginals, whose wonderful visual
powers are unsurpassed among mankind. Every-
body and everything must have been swallowed in
a cataclysm and buried deep and sure in the mud
and slime of a flood.

The New South Wales Government made
praiseworthy efforts to rescue the missing traveller.
About a year after Leichhardt visited Port Essing-
ton, the Government abandoned the settlement, and
the prevailing opinion in the colony of New South
Wales at that time was, that Leichhardt had not
been able to reach Eyre s Creek, but had been
forced up north, from his intended route, the inland-
sea theory still prevailing, and that he had probably
returned to the old settlement for relief. Therefore,
when he had been absent two years, the Govern-
ment despatched a schooner to the abandoned place.
The master of the vessel saw several of the half-
civilised natives, who well remembered Leichhardt's
arrival there, but he had not returned. The natives
promised the master to take the greatest care of \\\\\\

VOL. I.

xxxiv INTR on UCTION.

should he again appear, but it is needless to say he
was seen no more. The Government were very
solicitous about him, and when he had been absent
four years, Mr. Hovendon Heley was sent away
with an outfit of pack-horses and six or seven men,
to endeavour to trace him. This expedition seems
to have wandered about for several months, and
discovered, as Mr. Heley states, two marked trees
branded exactly alike, viz. xva» ^^^ ^^ich spot where
these existed is minutely described. There was at
each, a water-hole, upon the bank of which the
camp was situated ; at each camp a marked tree
was found branded alike ; at each, the frame of a
tent was left standing ; at each, some logs had been
laid down to place the stores and keep them
from damp. The two places as described appear
so identical that it seems impossible to think other-
wise than that Heley and his party arrived twice at
the same place without knowing it. The tree or
trees were found on a watercourse, or courses, near
the head of the Warrego River, in Queensland.
The above was all the information gained by this
expedition. A subsequent search expedition was
sent out in 1858, under Augustus Gregory; this I
shall place in its chronological order. Kennedy, a
companion of Sir Thomas Mitchell into Tropical
Australia in 1845, next enters the field. He went
to trace Mitchell's Victoria River or Barcoo, but
finding it turned southwards and broke into many
channels, he abandoned it, and on his return journey
discovered the Warrego River, which may be termed
the Murrumbidgee of Queensland. On a second
expedition, in 1848, Kennedy started from Moreton
Bay to penetrate and explore the country of the

INTR on UCTION, xxxv

long peninsula, which runs up northward between
the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Pacific Ocean, and
ends at Cape York, the northernmost point of
Australia in Torres Straits. From this disastrous
expedition he never returned. He was starved, ill,
fatigued, hunted by remorseless aborigines for days,
and finally speared to death by the natives of Cape
York, when almost within sight of his goal, where
a vessel was waiting to succour him and all his
party. Only a black boy named Jacky Jacky was
with him. After Kennedy's death Jacky buried all
his papers in a hollow tree, and for a couple of days
he eluded his pursuers, until, reaching the spot where
his master had told him the vessel would be, he ran
yelling down to the beach, followed by a crowd of
murderous savages. By the luckiest chance a boat
happened to be at the beach, and the officers and
crew rescued the boy. The following day a party
led by Jacky returned to where poor Kennedy lay,
and they buried him. They obtained his books and
maps from the tree where Jacky had hidden them.
The narrative of this expedition is heart-rending.
Of the whole number of the whites, namely seven,
two only were rescued by the vessel at a place
where Kennedy had formed a depot on the coast,
and left four men.

With Captain Roe, a companion of King s, with
whom he was speared and nearly killed by the
natives of Goulburn Island, in 1820, and who after-
wards became Surveyor-General of the colony of
Western Australia, the list of Australia's early
explorers may be said to close, although I should
remark that Augustus Gregory was a West Aus-
tralian explorer as early as the year 1 846. Captain

c 2

xxxvi INTRODUCTION.

Roe conducted the most extensive inland explora-
tion of Western Australia at that day, in 1848. No
works of fiction can excel, or indeed equal, in
romantic and heart-stirring interest the volumes,
worthy to be written in letters of gold, which record
the deeds and the sufferings of these noble toilers in
the dim and distant field of discovery afforded by
the Australasian continent and its vast islands.
It would be well if those works were read by the
present generation as eagerly as the imaginary tales
of adventure which, while they appeal to no real
sentiment, and convey no solid information, cannot
compete for a moment with those sublime records of
what has been dared, done, and suffered, at the call
of duty, and for the sake of human interests by men
who have really lived and died. I do not say that
all works of fiction are entirely without interest to
the human imagination, or that writers of some of
these works are not clever, for in one sense they
certainly are, and that is, in only writing of horrors
that never occurred, without going through the
preliminary agony of a practical realisation of the
dangers they so graphically describe, and from
which, perhaps, they might be the very first to flee,
though their heroes are made to appear nothing less
than demigods. Strange as it may appear, it seems
because the tales of Australian travel and self-
devotion are true, that they attract but little notice,
for were the narratives of the explorers not true
we might become the most renowned novelists the
world has ever known. Again, Australian geo-
graphy, as explained in the works of Australian
exploration, might be called an unlearned study.
Let me ask how many boys out of a hundred in

INTRODUCTION, xxxvu

Australia, or England either, have ever read Sturt
or Mitchell, Eyre, Leichhardt, Grey, or Stuart. It
is possible a few may have read Cook's voyages,
because they appear more national, but who has
read Flinders, King, or Stokes ? Is it because these
narratives are Australian and true that they are not
worthy of attention ?

Having well-nigh exhausted the list of the early
explorers in Australia, it is necessary now to turn to
a more modern school. I must admit that in the
works of this second section, with a few exceptions,
such stirring narratives as those of the older
travellers cannot be found.' Nevertheless, consider-
able interest must still attach to them, as they in
reality carry on the burning torch which will not be
consumed until by its light the whole of Australia
stands revealed.

The modern explorers are of a different class,
and perhaps of one not so high as their prede-
cessors. By this remark I do not mean anything
invidious, and if any of the moderns are correctly to
be classed with the ancients, the Brothers Gregory
must be spoken of next, as being the fittest to head
a secondary list. Augustus Gregory was in the
West Australian field of discovery in 1846. He
was a great mechanical, as well as a geographical,
discoverer, for to him we are indebted for our
modern horses' pack-saddles in lieu of the dreadful
old English sumpter horse furniture that went by
that name ; he also invented a new kind of compass
known as Gregory's Patent, unequalled for steering
on horseback, and through dense scrubs where an
ordinary compass would be almost useless, while
steering on camels in dense scrubs, on a given

xxxviii INTR OD UCTION.

bearing, without a Gregory would be next to im-
jpossible ; it would be far easier indeed, if not
absolutely necessary, to walk and lead them, which
has to be done in almost all camel countries.

In 1854 Austin made a lengthened journey to
the east and northwards, from the old settled places
of Western Australia, and in 1856 Augustus
Gregory conducted the North Australian Expe-
dition, fitted out under the auspices of the Royal
Geographical Society of London. Landing at
Stokes's Treachery Bay, Gregory and his brother
Frank explored Stokes's Victoria River to its
sources, and found another watercourse, whose
waters, running inland, somewhat revived the old
theory of the inland sea. Upon tracing this river,
which he named Sturt s Creek, after the father of
Australian exploration, it was found to exhaust
itself in a circular basin, which was named Termina-
tion Lake. Retracing the creek to where the depot
was situated, the party travelled across a stretch of
unknown country for some two hundred miles, and
striking Leichhardt's Port Essington track on
Leichhardt's Roper River, his route was followed
too closely for hundreds of miles until civilisation
was reached. My friend Baron von Mueller ac-
companied this expedition as botanist, naturalist,
surgeon and physician.

Soon after his return from his northern expe-
dition, Gregory was despatched in 1858 by the
Government of New South Wales to search again
for the lost explorer Leichhardt, who had then been
missing ten years. This expedition resulted in
little or nothing, as far as its main object was con-
cerned, one or two trees, marked L, on the Barcoo

TNTR on UCTION, xxxix

and lower end of the Thompson, was all it dis-
covered ; but, geographically, it settled the question
of the course of the Barcoo, or Mitchells Victoria,
which Gregory followed past Kennedys farthest
point, and traced until he found it identical with
Sturt s Cooper's Creek. He described it as being
of enormous width in times of flood, and two of
Sturt's horses, abandoned since 1845, were seen but
left uncaptured. Sturt s Strezletki Creek in South
Australian territory was then followed. This pecu-
liar watercourse branches out from the Cooper and
runs in a south-south-west direction. It brought
Gregory safely to the northern settlements of South
Australia. The fruitless search for it, however, was
one of the main causes of the death of Burke and
Wills in 1 86 1. This was Gregory's final attempt;
he accepted the position of Surveyor-General of
Queensland, and his labours as an explorer termi-
nated. His journals are characterised by a brevity
that is not the soul of wit, he appearing to grudge
to others the information he had obtained at the
expense of great endurance, hardihood, knowledge,
and judgment. Gregory was probably the closest
observer of all the explorers, except Mitchell, and
an advanced geologist.

In 1858 a new aspirant for geographical honours
appeared on the field in the person of John
McDouall Stuart, of South Australia, who, as before
mentioned, had formerly been a member of Captain
Sturt's Central Australian expedition in 1843-5 ^s
draftsman and surveyor. Stuarts object was to
cross the continent, almost in its greatest width,
from south to north ; and this he eventually accom-
plished. After three attempts he finally reached

xl INTRODUCTION,

the north coast in 1862, his rival Burke having been
the first to do so. Stuart might have been first, but
he seems to have under-valued his rival, and wasted
time in returning and refitting when he might have
performed the feat in two if not one journey ; for
he discovered a well-watered country the whole
way, and his route is now mainly the South Austra-
lian Transcontinental Telegraph Line, though it
must be remembered that Stuart had something like
fifteen hundred miles of unknown country in front
of him to explore, while Burke and Wills had
scarcely six. Stuart also conducted some minor
explorations before he undertook his greater one.
He and McKinlay were South Australia's heroes,
and are still venerated there accordingly. He died
in England not long after the completion of his last
expedition.

We now come to probably the most melancholy
episode in the long history of Australian exploration,
relating to the fate of Burke and Wills. The people
and Government of the colony of Victoria deter-
mined to despatch an expedition to explore Central
Australia, from Sturt's Eyre s Creek to the shores of
the Gulf of Carpentaria at the mouth of the Albert
River of Stokes's, a distance in a straight line of
not more than six hundred miles ; and as every-
thing that Victoria undertakes must always be on
the grandest scale, so was this. One colonist gave
;^iooo; ;^4000 more was subscribed, and then
the Government took the matter in hand to fit
out the Victorian Exploring Expedition. Camels
were specially imported from India, and everything
was done to ensure success ; when I say everything,
I mean all but the principal thing — the leader was

INTR OD UCTION. xli

the wrong man*. He knew nothing of bush life
or bushmanship, navigation, or any art of travel.
Robert O'Hara Burke was brave, no doubt, but so
hopelessly ignorant of what he was undertaking,
that it would have been the greatest wonder if he
had returned alive to civilisation. He was accom-
panied by a young man named Wills as surveyor
and observer ; he alone kept a diary, and from his
own statements therein he was frequently more
than a hundred miles out of his reckoning. That,
however, did not cause his or Burke's death ; what
really did so was bad management. The money
this expedition cost, variously estimated at from
j^40,ooo to ;^6o,ooo, was almost thrown away,
for the map of the route of the expedition was
incorrect and unreliable, and Wills's journal of no
geographical value, except that it showed they
had no difficulty with regard to water. The expe-
dition was, however, successful in so far that Burke
crossed Australia from south to north before Stuart,
and was the first traveller who had done so. Burke
and Wills both died upon Cooper s Creek after
their return from Carpentaria upon the field of their
renown. Charles Gray, one of the party, died, or
was killed, a day or two before returning thither,
and John King, the sole survivor, was rescued by
Alfred Howitt. Burkes and Stuarts lines of
travel, though both pushing from south to north,
were separated by a distance of over 400 miles in
longitude. These travellers, or heroes I suppose I
ought to call them, were neither explorers nor
bushmen, but they were brave and undaunted, and
they died in the cause they had undertaken.

When it became certain in Melbourne that some

xlii INTRODUCTION.

mishap must have occurred to these adventurers,
Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland each
sent out relief parties. South Australia sent John
McKinlay, who found Gray's grave, and afterwards
made a long exploration to Carpentaria, where, not
finding any vessel as he expected, he had an
arduous struggle to reach a Queensland cattle
station near Port Dennison on the eastern coast.
Queensland sent Landsborough by sea to Carpen-
taria, where he was landed and left to live or die as
he might, though of course he had a proper equip-
ment of horses, men, and gear. He followed up
the Flinders River of Stokes, had a fine country to
traverse ; got on to the head of the Warrago, and
finally on to the Parling River in New South Wales.
He came across no traces whatever of Burke.
Victoria sent a relief expedition under Walker, with
several Queensland black troopers. Walker, cross-
ing the lower Barcoo, found a tree of Leichhardt's
marked L, being the most westerly known. Walker
arrived at Carpentaria without seeing any traces of
the missing Burke and Wills ; but at the mouth of
the Albert River met the master of the vessel that
had conveyed Landsborough ; the master had seen
or heard nothing of Burke. Another expedition
fitted out by Victoria, and called the Victorian
Contingent Relief Expedition, was placed under
the command of Alfred Howitt in 1861. At this
time a friend of mine, named Conn, and I were out
exploring for pastoral runs, and were in retreat
upon the Darling, when we met Howitt going out.
When farther north I repeatedly urged my com-
panion to visit the Cooper, from which we were then
only eighty or ninety miles away, in vain. I urged

INTRODUCTION, xliii

how we might succour some, if not all, of the
wanderers. Had we done so we should have found
and rescued King, and we might have been in
time to save Burke and Wills also ; but Conn
would not agree to go. It is true we were nearly
starved as it was, and might have been entirely
starved had we gone there, but by good fortune we
met and shot a stray bullock that had wandered
from the Darling, and this happy chance saved our
lives. I may here remark that poor Conn and two
other exploring comrades of those days, named
Curlewis and McCulloch, were all subsequently, not
only killed but partly eaten by the wild natives of
Australia — Conn in a place near Cooktown on the
Queensland coast, and Curlewis and McCulloch on
the Paroo River in New South Wales in 1862.
When we were together we had many very narrow
escapes from death, and I have had several similar
experiences since those days. Howitt on his arrival
at Cooper s Creek was informed by the natives that
a white man was alive with them, and thus John
King, the sole survivor, was rescued.

Between 1860-65 several short expeditions were
carried on in Western Australia by Frank Gregory,
Lefroy, Robinson, and Hunt ; while upon the
eastern side of Australia, the Brothers Jardine
successfully explored and took a mob of cattle
thro\igh the region that proved so fatal to Kennedy
and his companions in 1848. The Jardines traversed
a route more westerly than Kennedy's, along the
eastern shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria to Cape
York.

In 1865, Duncan Mclntyre, while on the Flinders
River of Stokes and near the Gulf of Carpentaria,

xliv INTRODUCTION.

into which it flows, was shown by a white shepherd
at an out sheep station, a tree on which the letter L
was cut. This no doubt was one of Landsborough's
marks, or if it was really carved by Leichhardt, it
was done upon his journey to Port Essington in
1844, when he crossed and encamped upon the
Flinders. Mclntyre reported by telegraph to Mel-
bourne that he had found traces of Leichhardt,
whereupon Baron von Mueller and a committee of
ladies in Melbourne raised a fund of nearly ;^4cxx>,
and an expedition called " The Ladies' Leichhardt
Search Expedition," whose noble object was to
trace and find some records or mementoes, if not
the persons, and discover the last resting-place of
the unfortunate traveller and his companions, was
placed under Mclntyres command. About sixty
horses and sixteen camels were obtained for this
attempt. The less said about this splendid but
ill-starred efibrt the better. Indignation is a mild
term to apply to our feelings towards the man who
caused the ruin of so generous an undertaking.
Everything that its promoters could do to ensure
its success they did, and it deserved a better fate,
for a brilliant issue might have been obtained, if not
by the discovery of the lost explorers, at least by a
geographical result, as the whole of the western
half of Australia lay unexplored before it. The
work, trouble, anxiety, and expense that Baron von
Mueller went through to start this expedition none
but the initiated can ever know. It was ruined
before it even entered the field of its labours, for,
like Burkes and Willss expedition, it was un-
fortunately placed under the command of the wrong
man. The collapse of the expedition occurred in

INTRODUCTION, xlv

this wise. A certain doctor was appointed surgeon
and second in command, the party consisting of
about ten men, including two Afghans with the
camels, and one young black boy. Their encamp-
ment was now at a water-hole in the Paroo, where
Curlewis and McCulloch had been killed, in New
South Wales. The previous year Mclntyre had
visited a water-hole in the Cooper some seventy-four
or seventy-five miles from his camp on the Paroo,
and now ordered the whole of his heavily-laden beasts
and all the men to start for the distant spot. The few
appliances they had for carrying water soon became
emptied. About the middle of the third day, upon
arrival at the wished-for relief, to their horror and
surprise they found the water-hole was dry — by no
means an unusual thing in Australian travel. The
horses were already nearly dead ; Mclntyre, with-
out attempting to search either up or down the
channel of the watercourse, immediately ordered
a retreat to the last water in the Paroo. After
proceeding a few miles he left the horses and white
men, seven in number, and went on ahead with the
camels, the Afghans and the black boy, saying he
would return with water for the others as soon as
he could. His brother was one of the party left
behind. Almost as soon as Mclntyre's back was
turned, the doctor said to the men something to the
effect that they were abandoned to die of thirst,
there not being a drop of water remaining, and that
he knew in which packs the medical brandy was
stowed, certain bags being marked to indicate them.
He then added, ** Boys, we must help ourselves !
The Leichhardt Search Expedition is a failure ;
follow me, and I'll get you something to drink."

xlvi INTRODUCTION.

Taking a knife, he ripped open the marked bags
while still on the choking horses' backs, and ex-
tracted the only six bottles there were. One white
man named Barnes, to whom all honour, refused
to touch the brandy, the others poured the boiling
alcohol dow« their parched and burning throats,
and a wild scene of frenzy, as described by Barnes,
ensued. In the meanwhile the unfortunate pack-
horses wandered away, loaded as they were, and
died in thirst and agony, weighed down by their
unremoved packs, none of which were ever re-
covered. Thus all the food supply and nearly
all the carrying power of the expedition was lost ;
the only wonder was that none of these wretches
actually died at the spot, although I heard some
of them died soon after. The return of Mclntyre
and the camels loaded with water saved their lives
at the time ; but what was his chagrin and surprise
to find the party just where he had left them,
nearly dead, most of them delirious, with all the
horses gone, when he had expected to meet them
so much nearer the Paroo. In consequence of the
state these men or animals were in, they had to be
carried on the camels, and it was impossible to go
in search of the horses ; thus all was lost. This
event crushed the expedition. Mclntyre obtained
a few more horses, pushed across to the Flinders
again, became attacked with fever, and died. Thus
the ** Ladies* Leichhardt Search Expedition " en-
tirely fell through. The camels were subsequently
claimed by Mclntyre's brother for the cost of
grazing them, he having been carried by them to
Carpentaria, where he selected an excellent pastoral
property, became rich, and died. It was the same

INTR on UCTION. xlvii

doctor that got into trouble with the Queensland
Government concerning the kidnapping of some
islanders in the South Seas, and narrowly escaped
severe, if not capital, punishment.

In 1866, Mr. Cowle conducted an expedition from
Rocbourne, near Nicol Ba)^ on the West Coast,
for four or five hundred miles to the Fitzroy River,
discovered by Wickham, at the bottom of King's
Sound.

In 1869, a report having spread in Western
Australia of the massacre of some white people by
the natives somewhere to the eastwards of Cham-
pion Bay, on the west coast, the rumour was
supposed to relate to Leichhardt and his party ;
and upon the representations of Baron von Mueller
to the West Australian Government, a young sur-
veyor named John Forrest was despatched to in-
vestigate the truth of the story. This expedition
penetrated some distance to the eastwards, but could
discover no traces of the lost, or indeed anything
appertaining to any travellers whatever.

In 1869-70, John Forrest, accompanied by his
brother Alexander, was again equipped by the
West Australian Government for an exploration
eastwards, with the object of endeavouring to reach
the South Australian settlements by a new route
inland. Forrest, however, followed Eyre's track of
1 840- 1, along the shores of the Great Australian
Bight, and may be said to have made no explora-
tion at all, as he did not on any occasion penetrate
inland more than about thirty miles from the coast.
At an old encampment Forrest found the skull of
one of Eyre's horses, which had been lying there

xl viii INTR on UCTIOK

for thirty years. This trophy he brought with him
to Adelaide.

The following year, Alexander Forrest conducted
an expedition to the eastwards, from the West
Australian settlements ; but only succeeded in
pushing a few miles beyond Hunt and Lefroy's
furthest point in 1864.

What I have written above is an outline of the
history of discovery and exploration in Australia
when I first "took the field in the year 1872 ; and
though it may not perhaps be called, as Tenny-
son says, one of the fairy tales of science, still
it is certainly one of the long results of time.
I have conducted five public expeditions and
several private ones. The latter will not be
recorded in these volumes, not because there were
no incidents of interest, but because they were
conducted, in connection with other persons, for
entirely pastoral objects. Experiences of hunger,
thirst, and attacks by hostile natives during those
undertakings relieved them of any monotony they
might otherwise display. It is, however, to my
public expeditions that I shall now confine my
narrative.

The wild charm and exciting desire that induce
an individual to undertake the arduous tasks that
lie before an explorer, and the pleasure and delight
of visiting new and totally unknown places, are only
whetted by his first attempt, especially when he is
constrained to admit that his first attempt had not
resulted in his carrying out its objects.

My first and second expeditions were conducted
entirely with horses ; in all my after journeys I

INTRODUCTION. xlix

had the services of camels, those wonderful ships of
the desert, without whose aid the travels and ad-
ventures which are subsequently recorded could not
possibly have been achieved, nor should I now be
alive, as Byron says, to write so poor a tale, this
lowly lay of mine. In my first and second expedi-
tions, the object I had in view was to push across
the continent, from different starting points, upon
the South Australian Transcontinental Telegraph
Line, to the settled districts of Western Australia.
My first expedition was fitted out entirely by Baron
von Mueller, my brother-in-law, Mr. G. D. Gill,
and myself. I was joined in this enterprise by a
young gentleman, named Samuel Carmichael, whom
I met in Melbourne, and who also contributed his
share towards the undertaking. The farthest point
reached on this journey was about 300 miles from
my starting point. On my return, upon reaching the
Charlotte Waters Telegraph Station, in lat. 25° 55'
and long. 135°, I met Colonel Warburton and his
son, whom I had known before. These gentlemen
informed me, to my great astonishment, they were
about to undertake an exploring expedition to
Western Australia, for two well-known capitalists of
South Australia, viz. the Hon. Sir Thomas Elder
and Captain Hughes. I was also informed that a
South Australian Government expedition, for the
same purpose, was just in advance of them, under
the command of Mr. William C. Gosse. This
information took me greatly by surprise, though
perhaps an explorer should not admit such a feel-
ing. I had just returned from an attempt of the
same kind, beaten and disappointed. I felt if ever

VOL. I. d

INTRODUCTION.

I took the field again, against two such formidable
rivals as were now about to attempt what I had
failed in, both being supplied with camels by Sir
Thomas Elder, my chances of competing with them
would be small indeed, as I could only command
horses, and was not then known to Sir Thomas
Elder, the only gentleman in Australia who pos-
sessed camels.

The fact of two expeditions starting away simul-
taneously, almost as soon as I had turned my
back upon civilisation, showed me at once that my
attempt, I being regarded as a Victorian, had
roused the people and Government of South Aus-
tralia to the importance of the question which I
was the first to endeavour to solve — namely, the ex-
ploration of the unknown interior, and the possibility
of discovering an overland route for stock through
Central Australia, to the settlements upon the
western coast. This, I may remark, had been the
dream of all Australian explorers from the time of
Eyre and Leichhardt down to my own time. It
also showed that South Australia had no desire
to be beaten again,* and in her own territories, by
" worthless Melbourne's puling child ;" hence the
two new expeditions arose. Immediately upon my
return being made known by telegram to my friend
Baron von Mueller, he set to work, and with un-
wearied exertion soon obtained a new fund from
several wealthy gentlemen in the rival colony of
Victoria. In consideration of the information I
had afforded by my late effort, the Government
of South Australia supplemented this fund by the

• Burke and Stuart

INTR on UCTION, li

munificent subsidy of ;^250, provided I expended the
money in fresh explorations, and supplied to the
Government, at the termination of my journey, a
copy of the map and journal of my expedition.
My poverty, and not my will, consented to accept
so mean a gift. As a new, though limited fund was
now placed at my disposal, I had no inclination to
decline a fresh attempt, and thus my second expe-
dition was undertaken ; and such despatch was
used by Baron Mueller and myself, that I was
again in the field, with horses only, not many weeks
later than my rivals.

On this journey I was accompanied and seconded
by Mr. William Henry Tietkens. We had both
been scholars at Christ's Hospital in London,
though many years apart. Of the toils and adven-
tures of my second expedition the readers of my
book must form their own opinion ; and although I
was again unsuccessful in carrying out my object,
and the expedition ended in the death of one
member, and in misfortune and starvation to the
others, still I have been told by a few partial friends
that it was really a splendid failure. On that ex-
pedition I explored a line of nearly 700 miles of
previously unknown country, in a straight line from
my starting point.

During my first and second expeditions I had
been fortunate in the discovery of large areas of
mountain country, permanently watered and beauti-
fully grassed, and, as spaces of enormous extent still
remained to be explored, I decided to continue in
the field, provided I could secure the use of cameb.
These volumes will contain the narratives of my

lii INTRODUCTION.

— ■-■ * — — ■ - ■

public explorations. In the preface to this work I
have given an outline of the physical and colonial
divisions of Australia, so that my reader may even-
tually follow me, albeit in imagination only, to the
starting points of my journeys, and into the field of
my labours also.

PREFACE.

The Island Continent of Australia contains an
area of about three millions of square miles, it being,
so to say, an elliptically-shaped mass about 2500
miles in length from east to west, and 2000 from
north to south. The degrees of latitude and
longitude it occupies will be shown by the map
accompanying these volumes.

The continent is divided into five separate
colonies, whose respective capitals are situated
several hundreds of miles apart. The oldest colony
is New South Wales. The largest in area is
Western Australia, next comes South Australia ;
then Queensland, New South Wales, and lastly
Victoria, which, though the smallest in area, is now
the first in importance among the group. It was
no wonder that Mitchell, the Surveyor-General of
New South Wales, designated that region '* Aus-
tralia Felix."

It may be strange, but it is no less true, that
there is almost as great a difference between the
fiscal laws and governments of the various Aus-
tralian Colonies as between those of foreign States
in Europe — the only thing in common being the
language and the money of the British Empire.
Although, however, they agree to differ amongst

liv PREFACE.

themselves, there can be no doubt of the loyalty of
the group, as a whole, to their parent nation. I
shall go no further into this matter, as, although
English enough, it is foreign to my subject. I
shall treat more especially of the colony or colonies
within whose boundaries my travels led me, and
shall begin with South Australia, where my first
expedition was conducted.

South Australia includes a vast extent of country
called the Northern Territory, which must become
in time a separate colony, as it extends from the
26th parallel of latitude, embracing the whole
country northwards to the Indian Ocean at the
nth parallel. South Australia possesses one
advantage over the other colonies, from the geo-
graphical fact of her oblong territory extending,
so to speak, exactly in the middle right across the
continent from the Southern to the Indian Ocean.
The dimensions of the colony are in extreme length
over 1800 miles, by a breadth of nearly 700, and
almost through the centre of this vast region the
South Australian Transcontinental Telegraph line
runs from Adelaide, vi^ Port Augusta, to Port
Darwin.

At the time I undertook my first expedition
in 1872, this extensive work had just been com-
pleted, and it may be said to divide the continent
into halves, which, for the purpose I then had
in view, might be termed the explored and the
unexplored halves. For several years previous
to my taking the field, I had desired to be the
first to penetrate into this unknown region, where,
for a thousand miles in a straight line, no white man's
foot had ever wandered, or, if it had, its owner Jiad

PREFACE, Iv

never brought it. back, nor told the tale. I had
ever been a delighted student of the narratives of
voyages and discoveries, from Robinson Crusoe to
Anson and Cook, and the exploits on land in the
brilliant accounts given by Sturt, Mitchell, Eyre,
Grey, Leichhardt, and Kennedy, constantly excited
my imagination, as my own travels may do that
of future rovers, and continually spurred me on
to emulate them in the pursuit they had so
eminently graced.

My object, as indeed had been Leichhardt's, was
to force my way across the thousand miles that
lay untrodden and unknown, between the South
Australian telegraph line and the settlements upon
the Swan River. What hopes I formed, what
aspirations came of what might be my fortune, for
I trust it will be believed that an explorer may
be an imaginative as well as a practical creature,
to discover in that unknown space. Here let me
remark that the exploration of looo miles in
Australia is equal to 10,000 in any other part of
the earth's surface, always excepting Arctic and
Antarctic travels.

There was room for snowy mountains, an inland
sea, ancient river, and palmy plain, for races of new
kinds of men inhabiting a new and odorous land,
for fields of gold and golcondas of gems, for a new
flora and a new fauna, and, above all the rest com-
bined, there was room for me ! Many well-meaning
friends tried to dissuade me altogether, and .en-
deavoured to instil into my mind that what I so
ardently wished to attempt was simply deliberate
suicide, and to persuade me of the truth of the
poetic line, that the sad eye of experience sees

Ivi PREFACE.

beneath youth's radiant glow, so that, like Falstaff,
I was only partly consoled by the remark that they
hate us youth. But in spite of their experience,
and probably on account of youth's radiant glow, I
was not to be deterred, however, and at last I met
with Baron von Mueller, who, himself an explorer
with the two Gregorys, has always had the cause of
Australian exploration at heart, and he assisting, I
was at length enabled to take the field. Baron
Mueller and I had consulted, and it was deemed
advisable that I should make a peculiar feature near
the Finke river, called Chambers' Pillar, my point of
departure for the west. This Pillar is situated in
lat. 24° 55' and long. 133° 50', being 1200 miles
from Melbourne in a straight line, over which dis-
tance Mr. Carmichael, a black boy, and I travelled.
In the course of our travels from Melbourne to the
starting point, we reached Port Augusta, a seaport
though an inland town, at the head of Spencer's
Gulf in South Australia, first visited by the Inves-
tigator in 1803, and where, a few miles to the east-
wards, a fine bold range of mountains runs along for
scores of miles and bears the gallant navigator's
name. A railway line of 250 miles now connects
Port Augusta with Adelaide. To this town was
the first section of the Transcontinental telegraph
line carried ; and it was m those days the last place
where I could get stores for my expedition. Various
telegraph stations are erected along the line, the
average distance between each being from 150 to
200 miles. There were eleven stations between
Port Augusta and Port Darwin. A railway is now
completed as far as the Peake Telegraph Station,
about 450 miles north-westwards from Port Augusta

PREFACE. Ivii

along the telegraph line towards Port Darwin, to
which it will no doubt be carried before many years
elapse.

From Port Augusta the Flinders range runs
almost northerly for nearly 200 miles, throwing out
numerous creeks,* through rocky pine-clad glens
and gorges, these all emptying, in times of flood,
into the salt lake Torrens, that peculiar depression
which baffled Eyre in 1 840-1. Captain Frome,
the Surveyor-General of the Colony, dispelled the
old horse-shoe-shaped illusion of this feature, and
discovered that there were several similar features
instead of one. As far as the Flinders range ex-
tends northwards, the water supply of the traveller
in that region is obtained from its watercourses.
The country beyond, where this long range falls off,
continues an extensive open stony plateau or plain,
occasionally intersected with watercourses, the
course of the line of road being west of north.
Most of these watercourses on the plains fall into
Lake Eyre, another and more northerly salt depres-
sion. A curious limestone formation now occurs,
and for some hundreds of miles the whole country
is open and studded with what are called mound-
springs. These are usually about fifty feet high,
and ornamented on the summit with clumps of
tall reeds or bulrushes. These mounds are natural
artesian wells, through which the water, forced up
from below, gushes out over the tops to the level
ground, where it forms little water - channels at

* I must here remark that throughout this work the word creek
will often occur. This is not to be considered in its English
acceptation of an inlet from the sea, but, no matter how far inland,
it means, in Australia a watercourse.

VOL. I.

Iviii PREFACE.

which sheep and cattle can water. Some of these
mounds have miniature lakes on their summits,
where people might bathe. The most perfect mound
is called the Blanche Cup, in latitude about 29° 20',
and longitude 1 36° 40'.

The water of some of these springs is fresh and
good, the Blanche Cup is drinkable, but the gene-
rality of them have either a mineral salt- or soda-ish
taste ; at first their effect is aperient, but afterwards
^st the opposite. The water is good enough for
animals.

The Hon. Sir Thomas Elder's sheep, cattle,
horse, and camel station, Beltana, is the first tele-
graph station from Port Augusta, the distance being
1 50 miles. The next is at the Strangways Springs,
about 200 miles distant. This station occupies a
nearly central position in this region of mound-
springs ; it is situated on a low rise out of the
surrounding plain ; all around are dozens of these
peculiar mounds. The Messrs. Hogarth and War-
ren, who own the sheep and cattle station, have
springs with a sufficiently strong flow of water to
spout their wool at shearing time. The next tele-
graph station beyond the Strangways is the Peake,
distant 100 miles. About twenty miles northward,
or rather north-westward, from the Peake the
mound-springs cease, and the country is watered by
large pools in stony watercourses and creek beds.
These pools are generally not more than twelve to
fifteen miles apart. The waters in times of flood
run into Lake Eyre, which receives the Cooper
and all the flood waters of West and South-western
Queensland, and all the drainage from the hundred
watercourses of Central South Australia. The

PREFACE. lix

chief among the latter is the huge artery, the
Finke, from the north-west.

The Charlotte Waters Station, named after Lady
Charlotte Bacon, the lanthe of Byron, which was to
be my last outpost of civilisation, is a quadrangular
stone building, plastered or painted white, having a
corrugated iron roof, and a courtyard enclosed by
the two wings of the building, having loop-holes in
the walls for rifles and musketry, a cemented water-
tank dug under the yard, and tall heavy iron gates
to secure the place from attack by the natives.

I may here relate an occurrence at a station
farther up the line, built upon the same principle.
One evening, while the telegraph master and staff
were sitting outside the gates after the heat of the
day, the natives, knowing that the stand of arms
was inside the courtyard, sent some of their warriors
to creep unseen inside and slam the gates, so as to
prevent retreat. Then from the outside an attempt
to massacre was made ; several whites were speared,
some were killed on the spot, others died soon after-
wards, but the greatest wonder was that any at all
escaped.

The establishment at the Charlotte Waters
stands on a large grassy and pebbly plain, bounded
on the north by a watercourse half a mile away.
The natives here have always been peaceful, and
never displayed any hostility to the whites. From
this last station I made my way to Chambers' Pillar,
which was to be my actual starting-point for the
west.

BOOK I.

VOL. I.

BOOK I.

VOL. I.

Australia Twice Traversed,

CHAPTER I.

FROM 4TII TO 3OTH AUGUST, 1 872.

The party — Port Augusta — The road — The Peake — Stony plateau

— Telegraph station — Natives formerly hostile — A new
member — Leave the Peake — Black boy deserts — Reach the
Charlotte Waters Station — Natives' account of other natives
— Leave last outpost — Reach the Finke — A Government
party — A ride westward — End of the stpny plateau — A
sandhill regior -Chambers* Pillar — The Moloch horridus —
Thermometer 18° — The Finke — Johnstone's range — A night
alarm — Beautiful trees — Wild ducks — A tributary — High
dark hill — Country rises in altitude — Very high sandhills —
Quicksands — New ranges — A brush ford — New pigeon —
Pointed hill — A clay pan — Christopher's Pinnacle — Chand-
ler's Range — Another new range — Sounds of running water

— First natives seen — Name of the river — A Central
Australian warrior — Natives burning the country — Name a
new creek — Ascend a mountain — Vivid green — Discover a
glen and more mountains — Hot winds, smoke and ashes.

The personnel of my first expedition into the
interior consisted in the first instance of myself,
Mr. Carmichael, and a young black boy. I intended
to engage the services of another white man at the
furthest outpost that I could secure one. From
Port Augusta I despatched the bulk of my stores by

B 2

4 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

a team to the Peake, and made a leisurely progress
up the overland road viA Beltana, the Finniss and
Strangways Springs stations. Our stores reached
the Peake station before us. This station was ori-
ginally called Mount Margaret, but subsequently
removed to the mound-springs near the south bank
of the Peake Creek ; it was a cattle station formed
by Mr. Phillip Levi of Adelaide. The character of
the country is an open stony plateau, upon which
lines of hills or ranges rise ; it is intersected by
numerous watercourses, all trending to Lake Eyre,
and was an excellent cattle run. The South Austra-
lian Government erected the telegraph station in the
immediate vicinity of the cattle station. When the
cattle station was first formed in 1862 the natives
were very numerous and very hostile, but at the time
of my visit, ten years later, they were comparatively
civilised. At the Peake we were enabled to re-shoe
all our horses, for the stony road up from Port
Augusta had worn out all that were put on there.
I also had an extra set fitted for each horse, rolled
up in calico, and marked with its name. At the
Peake I engaged a young man named Alec Robin-
son, who, according to his account, could do every-
thing, and had been everywhere, who knew the
country I was about to explore perfectly well, and
who had frequently met and camped with blacks
from the west coast, and declared we could easily
go over there in a few weeks. He died at one of
the telegraph stations a year or two after he left
me. I must say he was very good at cooking, and
shoeing horses. I am able to do these useful works
myself, but I do not relish either. I had brought a
light little spring cart with me all the way from

BLACK BOY DESERTS.

Melbourne to the Peake, which I sold here, and my
means of transit from thence was with pack-horses.
After a rather prolonged sojourn at the Peake,
where I received great hospitality from Mr. Blood,
of the Telegraph Department, and from Messrs.
Bagot, the owners, and Mr. Conway, the manager,
we departed for the Charlotte.

My little black boy Dick, or, as he used generally
to write, and call himself, Richard Giles Kew, 1872,
had been at school at Kew, near Melbourne.
He came to me from Queensland ; he had visited
Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney, and had been
with me for nearly three years, but his fears of
wild natives were terribly excited by what nearly
everybody we met said to him about them. This
was not surprising, as it was usually something to

this effect, in bush parlance : ** By G , young

feller, just you look out when you get outside !
The wild blacks will [adjective] soon cook you.
They'll kill yo2i first, you know — they will like to
cut out your kidney fat! They'll sneak on yer
when yer goes out after the horses, they'll have
yer and eat yer." This being the burden of the
strain continually dinned into the boy s ears, made
him so terrified and nervous the farther we got
away from civilisation, that soon after leaving the
Peake, as we were camping one night with som(i
bullock teams returning south, the same stories
having been told him over again, he at last made
up his mind, and told me he wanted to go back
with one of the teamsters ; he had hinted about
this before, and both Carmichael and Robinson
seemed to be aware of his intention. Force was
useless to detain him ; argument was lost on him,

AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

and entreaty I did not attempt, so in the morn-
ing we parted. I shall mention him again by-
and-bye. He was a small, very handsome, light-
complexioned, very intelligent, but childish boy,
and was frequently mistaken for a half-caste ; he
was a splendid rider and tracker, and knew
almost everything. He was a great wit, as one
remark of his will show. In travelling up the
country after he had been at school, we once saw
some old deserted native gunyahs, and he said to
me as we rode by, pointing to them, ** Gentleman's
'ouse, villa residence, I s'pose, he's gone to- his
watering place for the season p'r aps." At another
time, being at a place called Crowlands, he asked
me why it was called so. I replied, pointing to a
crow on a tree, ** Why, there's the crow," and stamp-
ing with my foot on the ground, ** there's the land ; "
he immediately said, ** Oh, now I know why my
country is called Queensland, because it's land
belonging to our Queen." I said, ** Certainly it
is ; " then he said, ** Well, ain't it funny ? I never
knew that before." In Melbourne, one day, we
were leaning out of a window overlooking the
people continually passing by. Dick said, ** What
for, — white fellow always walk about — walk about in
town — when he always rides in the bush ? " I said,
" Oh, to do their business." ** Business," he asked,
"what's that?" I said, ** Why, to get money, to
be sure." ** Money," he said ; *' white fellow can't
pick up money in the street."

From the Peake we had only pack-horses and
one little Scotch terrier dog. Dick left us at
Hann's Creek, thirty miles from the Peake. On
our road up, about halfway between the Peake and

THE CHARLOTTE WATERS STATION.

the Charlotte, we crossed and camped at a large
creek which runs into the Finke, called the Alberga.
Here we met a few natives, who were friendly
enough, but who were known to be great thieves,
having stolen things from several bullock drays, and
committed other robberies ; so we had to keep a
sharp look out upon them and their actions. One
of their number, a young man, could speak English
pretty well, and could actually sing some songs.
His most successful effort in that line was the song
of "Jim Crow," and he performed the " turn about
and wheel about and do just so " part of it until he
got giddy, or pretended to be ; and to get rid of
him and his brethren, we gave them some flour and
a smoke of tobacco, and they departed.

We arrived at the Charlotte Waters station on
the 4th of August. 1872 ; this was actually my last
outpost of civilisation. My companion, Mr. Car-
michael, and I were most kindly welcomed by Mr.
Johnstone, the officer in charge of this depot, and by
Mr. Chandler, a gentleman belonging to a telegraph
station farther up the line. In consequence of
their kindness, our stay was lengthened to a week.
My horses were all the better for the short respite,
for they were by no means in good fettle ; but the
country having been visited by rains, grass was
abundant, and the animals improving. The party
consisted only of myself, Carmichael, and Robinson;
I could not now obtain another man to make up
our original number of four. We still had the little
dog. During our stay at the Charlotte I inquired
of a number of the natives for information concern-
ing the region beyond, to the west and north-west.
They often used the words '* Larapinta and plenty

8 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

black fellow." Of the country to the west they
seemed to know more, but it was very difficult to
get positive statements. The gist of their informa-
tion was that there were large waters, high moun-
tains, and plenty, plenty, wild black fellow ; they
said the wild blacks were very big and fat, and had
hair growing, as some said, all down their backs ;
while others asserted that the hair grew all over
their bodies, and that they eat pickaninnies, and
sometimes came eastward and killed any of the
members of the Charlotte tribe that they could find,
and carried off all the women they could catch.
On the 1 2th we departed, and my intended starting
point being Chambers' Pillar, upon the Finke River,
I proceeded up the telegraph road as far as the
crossing place of the above-named watercourse,
which was sixty miles by the road.

In the evening of the day we encamped there, a
Government party, under the charge of Mr. McMinn,
surveyor, and accompanied by Mr. Harley Bacon, a
son of Lady Charlotte Bacon, arrived from the
north, and we had their company at the camp.
Close to this crossing-place a large tributary joins
the Finke near the foot of Mount Humphries. On
the following day Mr. McMinn, Mr. Bacon, and I
rode up its channel, and at about twelve miles we
found a water-hole and returned. The country con-
sisted chiefly of open sandhills well grassed. I
mentioned previously that from Port Augusta,
northwards and north-westwards, the whole region
consists of an open stony plateau, upon which moun-
tain ranges stand at various distances ; through and
from these, a number of watercourses run, and, on a
section of this plateau, nearly 200 miles in extent,

CHAMBERS PILLAR. 9

the curious mound-springs exist. This formation,
mostly of limestone, ceases at, or immediately
before reaching, the Finke, and then a formation
of heavy red sandhills begins. Next day our
friends departed for the Charlotte, after making
me several presents. From Mr. McMinn I obtained
the course and distance of the pillar from our camp,
and travelling on the course given, we crossed the
Finke three times, as it wound about so snake-like
across the country. On the 22nd we encamped
upon it, having the pillar in full view.

chambers' pillar.

The appearance of this feature I should imagine
to be unique. For a detailed account of it my
reader must consult Stuart's report. Approach-
ing the pillar from the south, the traveller must
pass over a series of red sandhills, covered with
some scrubs, and clothed near the ground with
that abominable vegetable production, the so-

lo AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

called spinifex or porcupine grass — botanically, the
Triodia, or Festuca irritans. The timber on the
sandhills near the pillar is nearly all mulga, a very
hard acacia, though a few tall and well -grown
casuarinas — of a kind that is new to me, viz., the
C. Decaisneana — are occasionally met.* On our
route Mr. Carmichael brought to me a most
peculiar little lizard, a true native of the soil ; its
colour was a yellowish-green ; it was- armed, or
ornamented, at points and joints, with spines, in a
row along its back, sides, and legs ; these were
curved, and almost sharp ; on the back of its neck
was a thick knotty lump, with a spine at each side,
by which I lifted it ; its tail was armed with spines
to the point, and was of proportional length to its
body. The lizard was about eight inches in length.
Naturalists have christened this harmless little
chameleon the Moloch horridus. I put the little

creature in a pouch, and intended to preserve it,
but it managed to crawl out of its receptacle, and
dropped again to its native sand. I had one of
these lizards, as a pet, for months in Melbourne.
It was finally trodden on and died. It used to eat
sugar.

" These trees have almost a palm-like appearance, aad look
like huge mops ; but ihey grow in the driest regions.

THE FINKE. 1 1

By this time we were close to the pillar : its
outline was most imposing. Upon reaching it, I
found it to be a columnar structure, standing upon
a pedestal, which is perhaps eighty feet high, and
composed of loose white sandstone, having vast
numbers of large blocks lying about in all directions.
From the centre of the pedestal rises the pillar,
composed also of the same kind of rock ; at its top,
and for twenty to thirty feet from its summit, the
colour of the stone is red. The column itself must
be seventy or eighty feet above the pedestal. It is
split at the top into two points. There it stands, a
vast monument of the geological periods that must
have elapsed since the mountain ridge, of which it
was formerly a part, was washed by the action of
old Ocean's waves into mere sandhills at its feet.
The stone is so friable that names can be cut in it
to almost any depth with a pocket-knife : so loose,
indeed, is it, that one almost feels alarmed lest it
should fall while he is scratching at its base. In a
small orifice or chamber of the pillar I discovered
an opossum asleep, the first I had seen in this part
of the country. We turned our backs upon this
peculiar monument, and left it in its loneliness and
its grandeur — ** clothed in white sandstone, mystic,
wonderful ! "

From hence we travelled nearly west, and
in seventeen miles came to some very high
sandhills, at whose feet the river swept. We
followed round them to a convenient spot, and one
where our horses could water without bogging.
The bed of the Finke is the most boggy creek-
channel I have ever met. As we had travelled
several miles in the morning to the pillar, and

12 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

camped eighteen beyond it, it was late in the after-
noon when we encamped. The country we passed
over was mostly scrubby sandhills, covered with
porcupine grass. Where we struck the channel
there was a long hole of brine. There was plenty
of good grass on the river flat ; and we got some
tolerably good water where we fixed our camp.
When we had finished our evening meal, the shades
of night descended upon us, in this our first bivouac
in the unknown interior. By observations of the
bright stars Vega and Altair, I found my latitude
was 24° 52' 15"; the night was excessively cold,
and by daylight next morning the thermometer
had fallen to 18°. Our blankets and packs were
covered with a thick coating of ice ; and tea left
in our pannikins overnight had become solid cakes.
The country here being soft and sandy, we un-
shod all the horses and carried the shoes. So far
as I could discern with the glasses, the river channel
came from the west, but I decided to go north-west,
as I was sure it would turn more northerly in time ;
and I dreaded being caught in a long bend, and
having to turn back many miles, or chance the loss
of some or all the horses in a boggy crossing. To
the south a line of hills appeared, where the natives
were burning the spinifex in all directions. These
hills had the appearance of red sandstone ; and they
had a series of ancient ocean watermarks along their
northern face, traceable for miles. This I called
Johnstone's Range. As another night approached,
we could see, to the north, the brilliant flames of
large grass fires, which had only recently been
started by some prowling sons of the soil, upon
their becoming aware of our presence in their

A MIGHT ALARM. 13

domain. The nights now were usually very cold.
One night some wild man or beast must have been
prowling around our camp, for my little dog Monkey
exhibited signs of great perturbation for several hours.
We kept awake, listening for some sounds that
might give us an idea of the intruders ; and being
sure that we heard the tones of human voices,
we got our rifles in readiness. The little dog
barked still more furiously, but the sounds de-
parted : we heard them no more : and the rest
of the night passed in silence — in silence and
beautiful rest.

We had not yet even sighted the Finke, upon my
north-west course ; but I determined to continue,
and was rewarded by coming suddenly upon it
under the foot of high sandhills. Its course now was
a good deal to the north. The horses being heavily
packed, and the spinifex distressing them so much,
we found a convenient spot where the animals could
water without bogging, and camped. Hard by, were
some clumps of the fine-looking casuarinas ; they
grow to a height of twenty to twenty-five feet of
barrel without a branch, and then spread out to a
fine umbrella top ; they flourish out of pure red sand.
The large sheet of water at the camp had wild
ducks on it : some of these we shot. The day was
very agreeable, with cool breezes from the north-
west. A tributary joins the Finke here from the
west, and a high dark hill forms its southern
embankment : the western horizon is bounded by
broken lines of hills, of no great elevation. As
we ascend the river, the country gradually rises,
and we are here about 250 feet above the level of
the Charlotte Waters Station.

14 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

Finding the river now trended not only northerly,
but even east of north, we had to go in that
direction, passing over some very high sandhills,
where we met the Finke at almost right angles.
Although the country was quite open, it was impos-
sible to see the river channel, even though fringed
with rows of splendid gum-trees, for any distance, as
it became hidden by the high sandhills. I was very
reluctant to cross, on account of the frightfully
boggy bed of the creek, but, rather than travel
several miles roundabout, I decided to try it. We
got over, certainly, but to see one s horses and loads
sinking bodily in a mass of quaking quicksand is
by no means an agreeable sight, and it was only
by urging the animals on with stock-whips, to
prevent them delaying, that we accomplished the
crossing without loss. Our riding horses got the
worst of it, as the bed was so fearfully ploughed up
by the pack-horses ahead of them. The whole bed
of this peculiar creek appears to be a quicksand, and
when I say it was nearly a quarter of a mile wide,
its formidable nature will be understood. Here a
stream of slightly brackish water was trickling down
the bed in a much narrower channel, however, than
its whole width ; and where the water appears upon
the surface, there the bog is most to be apprehended.
Sometimes it runs under one bank, sometimes under
the opposite, and again, at other places the water
occupies the mid-channel. A horse may walk upon
apparently firm sand towards the stream, when,
without a second's warning, horse and rider may be
engulfed in quicksand ; but in other places, where
it is firmer, it will quake for yards all round, and
thus give some slight warning.

A BUSH FORD, 15

Crossing safely, and now having the river on
my right hand, we continued our journey, sighting
a continuous range of hills to the north, which
ran east and west, and with the glasses I could
see the river trending towards them. I changed
my course for a conspicuous hill in this new line,
which brought me to the river again at right
angles ; and, having so successfully crossed in the
morning, I decided to try it again. We de-
scended to the bank, and after great trouble found
a spot firm enough and large enough to allow
all the horses to stand upon it at one time, but we
could not find a place where they could climb the
opposite bank, for under it was a long reach of
water, and a quagmire extending for more than a
mile on either side. Two of our riding-horses were
badly bogged in trying to find a get-away : finally,
we had to cut boughs and sticks, and bridge the
the place over with them. Thus we eventually got
the horses over one by one without accident or loss.
In four miles we touched on a bend of the river again,
but had no occasion to recross, as it was not in our
road. This day, having wasted so much time in
the crossings, we travelled only fifteen miles. The
horizon from this camp was bounded from south-
west, and west, round by north, to north-west, by
ranges ; which I was not sorry to perceive. Those
to the west, and south-west, were the highest and
most pointed. It appears that the Finke must
come under or through some of those to the north-
west. To-day I observed a most beautiful pigeon,
quite new to me ; it was of a dark-brown colour,
mottled under the throat and on the breast ; it had
also a high top-knot. It is considerably smaller

1 6 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

than the Sturt pigeon of his Central Australian
expedition.

It was now the 28th of August, and the tempera-
ture of the atmosphere was getting warmer. Jour-
neying now again about north-west, we reached a
peculiar pointed hill with the Finke at its foot.
We passed over the usual red sandhill country
covered with the porcupine grass, characteristic of
the Finke country, and saw a shallow sheet of
yellow rain water in a large clay pan, which is quite
an unusual feature in this part of the world, clay
being so conspicuous by its absence. The hill,
when we reached it, assumed the appearance of a
high pinnacle ; broken fragments of rock upon its
sides and summit showed it too rough and pre-
cipitous to climb with any degree of pleasure. I
named it Christopher's Pinnacle, after a namesake
of mine. The range behind it I named Chandler's
Range. For some miles we had seen very little
porcupine grass, but here we came into it again, to
the manifest disgust of our horses. We had now a
line of hills on our right, with the river on our
left hand, and in six or seven miles came to the
west end of Chandler s Range, and could see to the
north and north-west another, and much higher line
running parallel to Chandler s Range, but extending
to the west as far as I could see. The country
hereabouts has been nearly all burnt by the natives,
and the horses endeavour to pick roads where the
dreaded triodia has been destroyed.

We passed a few clumps of casuarinas and a few
stunted trees with broad, poplar-like leaves. Travel-
ling for twelve miles on this bearing, we struck the
Finke again, running nearly north and south. Here

FIRST NA TJVES SEEK 1 7

the river had a stony bed with a fine reach of water
in it ; so to-night at least our anxiety as regards the
horses bogging is at an end. The stream puriing
over its stony floor produces a most agreeable
sound, such as I have not heard for many a day.
Here I might say, *' Brightly the brook through
the green leaflets, giddy with joyousness, dances
along."

Soon after we had unpacked and let go our
horses, we were accosted by a native on the oppo-
site side of the creek. Our little dog became
furious ; then two natives appeared. We made an
attempt at a long conversation, but signally failed,
for neither of us knew many of the words the other
was saying. The only bit of information I obtained
from them was their name for the river — as they
kept continually pointing to it and repeating the
word Larapinta. This word, among the Peake and
Charlotte natives, means a snake, and from the
continual serpentine windings of this peculiar and
only Central Australian river, no doubt the name
is derived. I shot a hawk for them, and they
departed. The weather to-day was fine, with agree-
able cool breezes ; the sky has become rather over-
cast ; the flies are very numerous and troublesome ;
and it seems probable we may have a slight fall of
rain before long.

A few drops of rain fell during the night, which
made me regret that I had not had our tarpaulins
erected, though no more fell. In the morning there
was sultriness in the air though the sky was clear ;
the thermometer stood at 52°, and at sunrise a
smoky haze pervaded the whole sky. Whilst we
were packing up the horses this morning, the same

VOL. I. c

1 8 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

two natives whom we saw last night, again made
their appearance, bringing with them a third, who
was painted, feathered, greased, and red-ochred,
in, as they doubtless thought, the most alarming
manner. I had just mounted my horse, and rode to-
wards them, thinking to get some more information
from the warrior as to the course of the creek, &c.,
but when they saw the horse approaching they
scampered off, and the bedizened warrior projected
himself into the friendly branches of the nearest
tree with the most astonishing velocity. Perceiving
that it was useless to try to approach them, without
actually running them to earth, we left them ; and
crossing the river easily over its stony bed, we con-
tinued north-west towards a mountain in the ranges
that traversed the horizon in that direction. The
river appeared to come from the same spot. A
breeze from the north-west caused the dust raised
by the pack-horses, which we drove in a mob
before us, travelling upon the loose soil where the
spinifex had all been lately burnt, to blow directly
in our faces. At five miles we struck on a bend of
the river, and we saw great volumes of smoke from
burning grass and triodia rising in all directions.
The natives find it easier to catch game when the
ground is bare, or covered only with a short vegeta-
tion, than when it is clothed with thick coarse
grasses or pungent shrubs. A tributary from the
north, or east of north, joined the Finke on this
course, but it was destitute of water at the junction.
Soon now the river swept round to the westward,
along the foot of the hills we were approaching.
Here a tributary from the west joined, having a
slender stream of water running along its bed. It

A NEW RANGE. 19

was exceedingly boggy, and we had to pass up
along it for over two miles before we could find a
place to cross to enable us to reach the main
stream, now to the north of us. I called this
McMinn's Creek.

On reaching the Finke we encamped. In the
evening I ascended a mountain to the north-west-
ward of us. It was very rough, stony, and pre-
cipitous, and composed of red sandstone ; its
summit was some 800 feet above our camp. It had
litde other vegetation upon it than huge plots of
triodia, of the most beautiful and vivid green, and
set with the most formidable spines. Whenever
one moves, these spines enter the clothes in all
directions, making it quite a torture to walk about
among them. From here I could see that the Finke
turned up towards these hills through a glen, in a
north-westerly direction. Other mountains appeared
to the north and north-west ; indeed this seemed to
be a range of mountains of great length and breadth.
To the eastwards it may stretch to the telegraph
line, and to the west as far as the eye could see.
The sun had gone down before I had finished
taking bearings. Our road to-morrow will be up
through the glen from which the river issues. All
day a most objectionable hot wind has been blowing,
and clouds of smoke and ashes from the fires, and
masses of dust from the loose soil ploughed up by
the horses in front of us, and blowing in our faces,
made it one of the most disagreeable days I ever
passed. At night, however, a contrast obtained —
the wind dropped, and a calm, clear, and beautiful
night succeeded to the hot, smoky, and dusty day.
Vega alone gave me my latitude here, close to the

c 2

20 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

mouth of the glen, as 24° 25' 12"; and, though the
day had been so hot and disagreeable, the night
proved cold and chilly, the thermometer falling to
24° by daylight, but there was no frost, or even any
dew to freeze.

A SERPENTINE CHANNEL. 21

CHAPTER II.

FROM 3OTH AUGUST TO 6tH SEPTEMBER, 1872.

Milk thistle — In the glen — A seq)entine and rocky road — Name
a new creek — Grotesque hills — Caves and caverns — Cypress
pines— More natives — Astonish them — Agreeable scenery —
Sentinel stars — Pelicans — Wild and picturesque scenery —
More natives — Palm-trees — A junction in the glen — High
ranges to the north — Palms and flowers — The Glen of Palms
— Slight rain — Rain at night — Plant various seeds — End of
the glen — Its length — Krichauff Range — The northern range
— Level country between — A gorge —A flooded channel —
Cross a western tributary — Wild ducks — Ramble among the
mountains — Their altitude— A splendid panorama— Progress
stopped by a torrent and impassable gorge.

Our start this morning was late, some of our
horses having wandered in the night, the feed
at the camp not being very good ; indeed the
only green herb met by us, for some consider-
able distance, has been the sow or milk thistle
{Sonclms oleraceus), which grows to a considerable
height. Of this the horses are extremely fond :
it is also very fattening. Entering the mouth
of the glen, in two miles we found ourselves fairly
enclosed by the hills, which shut in the river on
both sides. We had to follow the windings of the
serpentine channel ; the mountains occasionally
forming steep precipices overhanging the stream,
first upon one side, then upon the other. We often
had to lead the horses separately over huge ledges

22 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

of rock, and frequently had to cut saplings and lever
them out of the way, continually crossing and
recrossing the river. On camping in the glen we
had only made good eleven miles, though to ac-
complish this we had travelled more than double
the distance. At the camp a branch creek came
out of the mountains to the westwards, which I
named Phillip's Creek. The whole of this line of
ranges is composed of red sandstone in large or
small fragments, piled up into the most grotesque
shapes. Here and there caves and caverns exist in
the sides of the hills.

A few trees of the cypress pine {Callitris) were
seen upon the summits of the higher mounts. The
hills and country generally inside this glen are more
fertile than those outside, having real grass instead
of triodia upon their sides. I saw two or three
natives just before camping ; they kept upon the
opposite side of the water, according to a slight
weakness of theirs. Just at the time I saw them, I
had my eye on some ducks upon the water in the
river bed, I therefore determined to kill two birds
with one stone ; that is to say, to shoot the ducks
and astonish the natives at the same time. I got
behind a tree, the natives I could see were watching
me most intently the while, and fired. Two ducks
only were shot, the remainder of the birds and the
natives, apparently, flying away together. Our
travels to-day were very agreeable ; the day was
fine, the breezes cool, and the scenery continually
changing, the river taking the most sinuous wind-
ings imaginable ; the bed of it, as might be expected
in such a glen, is rough and stony, and the old fear
of the horses begging has departed from us. By

NATIVES IN THE GLEN 23

bearings back upon hills at the mouth of the glen I
found our course was nearly north 23° west. The
night was clear and cold ; the stars, those sentinels
of the sky, appeared intensely bright. To the ex-
plorer they must ever be objects of admiration and
love, as to them he is indebted for his guidance
through the untrodden wilderness he is traversing.
" And sweet it is to watch them in the evening skies
weeping dew from their gentle eyes." Several hun-
dred pelicans, those antediluvian birds, made their
appearance upon the water early this morning, but
seeing us they flew away before a shot could be
fired. These birds came from the north-west ; in-
deed, all the aquatic birds that I have seen upon
the wing, come and go in that direction. I am in
hopes of getting through this glen to-day, for how-
ever wild and picturesque the scenery, it is very
difficult and bad travelling for the unshod horses ;
consequently it is difficult to get them along. There
was no other road to follow than the windings of
the river bed through this mountain-bound glen, in
the same manner as yesterday. Soon after starting,
I observed several natives ahead of us ; immedi-
ately upon their discovering us they raised a great
outcry, which to our ears did not exactly resemble
the agreeable vibration of a melodious sound, it
being quite the opposite. Then of course signal
fires were made which raised great volumes of
smoke, the natives thinking perhaps to intimidate
and prevent us from farther advance. Neither of
these effects was produced, so their next idea was
to depart themselves, and they ran ahead of us up
the glen. I also saw another lot of some twenty
or thirty scudding away over the rocks and stony

24 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

hills — these were probably the women and children.
Passing their last night's encampment, we saw that
they had left all their valuables behind them — these
we left untouched. One old gentleman sought the
security of a shield of rock, where this villain upon
earth and fiend in upper air most vehemently apos-
trophised us, and probably ordered us away out of
his territory. To the command in itself we paid
little heed, but as it fell in with our own ideas, we
endeavoured to carry it out as fast as possible.
This, I trust, was satisfactory, as I always like to
do what pleases others, especially when it coincides
with my own views.

" It*s a very fine thing, and delightful to see
Inclination and duty both join and agree."

Some of the natives near him threatened us with
their spears, and waved knobbed sticks at us, but
we departed without any harm being done on either
side.

Soon after leaving the natives, we had the gratifi-
cation of discovering a magnificent specimen of the
Fan palm, a species of Livistona, allied to one in
the south of Arnhiem's Land, and now distinguished
as the Maria Palm (Baron von Mueller), growing
in the channel of the watercourse with flood drifts
against its stem. Its dark-hued, dome-shaped
frondage contrasted strangely with the paler green
foliage of the eucalyptus trees that surrounded it.
It was a perfectly new botanical feature to me, nor
did I expect to meet it in this latitude. ** But there's
a wonderful power in latitude, it alters a mans
moral relations and attitude.'* I had noticed some
strange vegetation in the dry flood drifts lower

A PALM TREE.

doi ne-

thii his

fitu in

the led

am en,

wh for

no on-

tini red
froi

] we
left tra-
vel! uld
on!; Al-
tho yet
the its
stoi [ht-
ful the

pose, it seemed as though some kindly spirit whis-

26 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

pered that it would guard us while we slept, and
when the sun declined the swift stream echoed on.

The following day being Sunday, the ist Sep-
tember, I made it a day of rest, for the horses at
least, whose feet were getting sore from continued
travel over rocks and boulders of stone. I made
an excursion into the hills, to endeavour to discover
when and where this apparently interminable glen
ceased, for with all its grandeur, picturesqueness, and
variety, it was such a difficult road for the horses,
that I was getting heartily tired of it ; besides this,
I feared this range might be its actual source, and
that I should find myself eventually blocked and
stopped by impassable water-choked gorges, and
that I should finally have to retreat to where I first
entered it. I walked and climbed over several hills,
cliffs, and precipices, of red sandstone, to the west
of the camp, and at length reached the summit of
a pine-clad mountain considerably higher than any
other near it. Its elevation was over looo feet
above the level of the surrounding country. From
it I obtained a view to all points of the compass
except the west, and could descry mountains, from
the north-east round by north to the north-north-
west, at which point a very high and pointed mount
showed its top above the others in its neighbour-
hood, over fifty miles away. To the north and east
of north a massive chain, with many dome-shaped
summits, was visible. Below, towards the camp, I
could see the channel of the river where it forced
its way under the perpendicular sides of the hills,
and at a spot not far above the camp it seemed
split in two, or rather was joined by another water-
course from the northwards. From the junction

THE GLEN OF PALMS. 27

the course of the main stream was more directly
from the west. Along the course of the tributary
at about ten miles I could see an apparently open
piece of country, and with the glasses there ap-
peared a sheet of water upon it. I was glad to find
a break in the chain, though it was not on the line
I should travel. Returning to my companions, I
imparted to them the result of my observations.

On Monday, the 2nd, there was a heaviness in the
atmosphere that felt like approaching rain. The
thermometer during the night had not fallen below
60°, over 40° higher than at our first night s camp
from the pillar. To-day, again following the mazy
windings of the glen, we passed the northern tributary
noticed yesterday, and continued on over rocks, under
precipices, crossing and re-crossing the channel, and
turning to all points of the compass, so that nearly
three miles had to be travelled to make good one.
Clumps of the beautiful palms were occasionally
passed, growing mostly in the river bed, and where
they appear, they considerably enliven the scenery.
During my sojourn in this glen, and indeed from
first starting, I collected a great number of most
beautiful flowers, which grow in profusion in this
otherwise desolate glen. I was literally surrounded
by fair flowers of every changing hue. Why Nature
should scatter such floral gems upon such a stony
sterile region it is difficult to understand, but such a
variety of lovely flowers of every kind and colour I
had never met with previously. Nature at times,
indeed, delights in contrasts, for here exists a land
** where bright flowers are all scentless, and songless
bright birds.** The flowers alone would have induced
me to name this Glen Flora ; but having found in

28 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

it also so many of the stately palm trees, I have
called it the Glen of Palms. Peculiar indeed, and
romantic too, is this new-found watery glen, en-
closed by rocky walls, " Where dial-like, to portion
time, the palm-tree's shadow falls."

While we were travelling to-day, a few slight
showers fell, giving us warning in their way that
heavier falls might come. We were most anxious
to reach the northern mouth of the glen if possible
before night, so heartily tired were we of so con-
tinuously serpentine a track ; we therefore kept
pushing on. We saw several natives to-day, but
they invariably fled to the fastnesses of their moun-
tain homes, they raised great volumes of smoke,
and their strident vociferations caused a dull and
buzzing sound even when out of ear-shot. The
pattering of the rain-drops became heavier, yet we
kept on, hoping at every turn to see an opening
which would free us from our prison-house ; but
night and heavier rain together came, and we were
compelled to remain another night in the palmy
glen. I found a small sloping, sandy, firm piece of
ground, probably the only one in the glen, a little
off from the creek, having some blood-wood or red
gum-trees growing upon it, and above the reach of
any flood-mark — for it is necessary to be careful in
selecting a site on a watercourse, as, otherwise, in a
single instant everything might be swept to destruc-
tion. We were fortunate indeed to find such a
refuge, as it was large enough for the horses to
graze on, and there was some good feed upon it.
By the time we had our tarpaulins fixed, and every-
thing under cover, the rain fell in earnest. The
tributary passed this morning was named Ellery s

PLANT GARDEN SEEDS. 29

Creek. The actual distance we travelled to-day
was eighteen miles ; to accomplish this we travelled
from morn till night. Although the rain continued
at intervals all night, no great quantity fell. In the
morning the heavens were clear towards the south,
but to the north dense nimbus clouds covered the
hills and darkened the sky. Not removing the
camp, I took another ramble into the hills to the
east of the camp, and from the first rise I saw what
I was most anxious to see, that is to say, the end, or
rather the beginning of the glen, which occurred at
about two miles beyond our camp. Beyond that
the Finke came winding from the north-west, but
clouds obscured a distant view. It appeared that
rain must still be falling north of us, and we had to
seek the shelter of our canvas home. At midday
the whole sky became overclouded, rain came
slowly down, and when the night again descended
heavier still was then the fall. At an hour after
daylight on the morrow the greatest volume fell,
and continued for several hours. At midday it held
up sufficiently to enable me to plant some seeds of
various trees, plants, vegetables, &c., given me
specially by Baron von Mueller. Among these
were blue gum (tree), cucumbers, melons, culinary
vegetables, white maize, prairie grass, sorghum,
rye, and wattle-tree seeds, which I soaked before
planting. Although the rain lasted thirty-six hours
in all, only about an inch fell. It was with great
pleasure that at last, on the 5 th, we left the glen
behind us, and in a couple of miles debouched upon
a plain, which ran up to the foot of this line of
ranges. The horses seemed to be especially pleased
to be on soft ground again. The length of this

30 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

glen is considerable, as it occupies 31' of latitude.
The main bearing of it is nearly north 25° west ;
it is the longest feature of the kind I ever tra-
versed, being over forty miles straight, and over a
hundred miles of actual travelling, and it appeared
the only pass through the range, which I named the
Krichauff. To the north a higher and more im-
posing chain existed, apparently about twenty miles
away. This northern chain must be the western
portion of the McDonnell Range. The river now is
broader than in the glen ; its bed, however, is stony,
and not boggy, the country level, sandy, and thinly
timbered, mostly all the vegetation being burnt by
grass fires set alight by the natives.

Travelling now upon the right bank of this
stream, we cut off most of the bends, which,
however, were by no means so extensive or so
serpentine as in the glen or on the south side of
it. Keeping near the river bank, we met but little
porcupine grass for the most part of the day's stage,
but there was abundance of it further off. The
river took us to the foot of the big mountains, and
we camped about a mile below a gorge through
which it issues. As we neared the new hills, we
became aware that the late rains were raising the
waters of the river. At six miles before camping
we crossed a tributary joining the Finke at right
angles from the west, where there are some ranges
in that direction ; a slight stream was running down
the bed. My next anxiety is to discover where
this river comes from, or whether its sources
are to be found in this chain. The day was
delightfully fine and cool, the breezes seemed to
vibrate the echo of an air which Music, sleeping at

A SPLENDID PANORAMA. 31

her instrument, had ceased to play. The ground
is soft after the late rains. I said we camped a
mile below a gorge ; at night I found my position
to be in latitude 23° 40', and longitude 132° 31',
the variation 3° east. We shot a few ducks, which
were very fat and good. This morning I took a walk
into the hills to discover the best route to take next.
The high ranges north seem to be formed of three
separate lines, all running east and west ; the most
northerly being the highest, rising over 2000 feet
above the level of the surrounding country, and,
according to my barometrical and boiling-point
measurements, I found that at the Charlotte
Waters I was 900 feet above the sea. From that
point up to the foot of these mountains the country
had steadily risen, as we traced the Finke, over
1000 feet, so that the highest points of that range
are over 4000 feet above sea level ; the most
southerly of the three lines is composed of sand-
stone, the middle and highest tiers I think change
to granite. I climbed for several hours over masses
of hills, but always found one just a little farther
on to shut out the view. At length I reached the
summit of a high round mountain in the middle
tier, and a most varied and splendid panorama was
spread before me, or I was spread before it.

To the north was the main chain, composed for
the most part of individual high mounts, there
being a valley between them and the hill I was on,
and meandering along through this valley from the
west I could trace the course of the Finke by its
timber for some miles. To the east a mass of high
and jumbled hills appeared, and one bluff-faced
mount was more conspicuous than the rest. Nearer

32 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

to me, and almost under my feet, was the gorge
through which the river passes, and it appears to
be the only pass through this chain. I approached
the precipice overlooking the gorge, and found the
channel so flooded by the late rains, that it was
impossible to get the horses up through it. The
hills which enclosed it were equally impracticable,
and it was utterly useless to try to get horses over
them. The view to the west was gratifying, for
the ranges appeared to run on in undiminished
height in that direction, or a little north of it
From the face of several of the hills I climbed
to-day, I saw streams of pure water running,
probably caused by the late rains. One hill I
passed over I found to be composed of pudding-
stone, that is to say, a conglomeration of many
kinds of stone mostly rounded and mixed up in a
mass, and formed by the smothered bubblings of
some ancient and ocean-quenched volcano. The
surface of the place now more particularly men-
tioned had been worn smooth by the action of the
passage of water, so that it presented the appear-
ance of an enormous tessellated pavement, before
which the celebrated Roman one at Bognor, in
Sussex, which I remember, when I was a boy, on
a visit to Goodwood, though more artistically but
not more fantastically arranged, would be compelled
to hide its diminished head. In the course of my
rambles I noticed a great quantity of beautiful
flowers upon the hills, of similar kinds to those
collected in the Glen of Palms, and these interested
me so greatly, that the day passed before I was
aware, and I was made to remember the line,
** How noiseless falls the foot of Time that only

A PA TIENT SLA VE. 33

treads on flowers." I saw two kangaroos and one
rock wallaby, but they were too wild to allow me
to approach near enough to get a shot at them.
When I said I walked to-day, I really started on
an old favourite horse called Cocky, that had
carried me for years, and many a day have I had
to thank him for getting me out of difficulties
through his splendid powers of endurance. I soon
found the hills too rough for a horse, so fixing up
his bridle, I said, ** Now you stop there till I come
back." I believe he knew everything I said, for I
used frequently to talk to him. When I came back
at night, not thinking he would stay, as the other
horses were all feeding within half a mile of him,
there he was just as I had left him. I was quite
inclined to rest after my scrambles in the hills.
During the night nothing occurred to disturb our
slumbers, which indeed were aided by the sounds
of the rippling stream, which sang to us a soothing
song.

VOL. I. D

34 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

CHAPTER III.

FROM 6th SEPTEMBER TO 1 7TH SEPTEMBER, 1 872.

Progress stopped — Fall back on a tributary — River flooded — A
new range — Rudall's Creek — Reach the range — Grass-trees
— Wild beauty of scene — Scarcity of water — A pea-like vetch
— Name the range — A barren spot — Water seen from it —
Follow a creek channel — Other creeks join it — A confined
glen — Scrubby and stony hills — Strike a gum creek — Slimy
water — A pretty tree — Flies troublesome — Emus — An orange
tree — Tropic of Capricorn — Melodious sounds — CarmichaeFs
Creek — Mountains to the north — Ponds of water — A green
plain — Clay-pan water — Fine herbage — Kangaroos and
emus numerous — A new tree — Agreeable encampment —
Peculiar mountains — High peak — Start to ascend it — Game
plentiful — Racecourse plain — Surrounded by scrubs — A bare
slope — A yawning chasm — Appearance of the peak —
Gleaming pools — Cypress pines — The tropic clime of youth
— Proceed westwards — Thick scrubs — Native method of
procuring water — A pine-clad hill — A watercourse to the
south — A poor supply of water — Skywards the only view —
Horses all gone — Increasing temperature — Attempt ascend-
ing high bluff — Timberless mountains — Beautiful flowers —
Sultry night — Wretched encampment — Depart from it.

I HAD come to the decision, as it was impossible
to follow the Finke through the gorge in conse-
quence of the flood, and as the hills were equally
impracticable, to fall back upon the tributary I had
noticed the day before yesterday as joining the river
from the west, thinking I might in twenty or thirty
miles find a gap in the northern range that would

WILD BE A UTY OF THE SCENE. 35

enable me to reach the Finke again. The night
was very cold, the thermometer at daylight stood
at 28°. The river had risen still higher in the
night, and it was impossible to pass through the
gorge. We now turned west-south-west, in order to
strike the tributary. Passing first over rough stony
ridges, covered with porcupine grass, we entered a
sandy, thickly-bushed country, and struck the creek
in ten miles. A new range lying west I expected
to be the source of it, but it now seemed to turn too
much to the south. There was very poor grass, it
being old and dry, but as the new range to the west
was too distant, we encamped, as there was water.
This watercourse was called Rudalls Creek. A
cold and very dewy night made all our packs,
blankets, &c., wet and clammy; the mercury fell
below freezing point, but instantly upon the sun s
appearance it went up enormously. The horses
rambled, and it was late when we reached the
western range, as our road was beset by some miles
of dense scrubs. The range was isolated, and of
some elevation. As we passed along the creek, the
slight flood became slighter still ; it had now nearly
ceased running. The day was one of the warmest
we had yet experienced. The creek now seemed
not to come from the range, but, thinking water
might be got there so soon after rains, we travelled
up to its foot. The country was sandy, and be-
decked with triodia, but near the range I saw for
the first time on this expedition a quantity of the
Australian grass-tree {Xaiithorrlicsd) dotting the
landscape. They were of all heights, from two to
twenty feet. The country round the base of this
range is not devoid of a certain kind of wild beauty.

D 2

36 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

A few blood- wood or red gum-trees, with their
brilliant green foliage, enlivened the scene.

A small creek, lined with gum-trees, issued from
an opening or glen, up which I rode in search of
water, but was perfectly unsuccessful, as not a drop
of the life-sustaining fluid was to be found. Upon
returning to impart this discouraging intelligence to
my companions, I stumbled upon a small quantity
in a depression, on a broad, almost square boulder of
rock that lay in the bed of the creek. There was not
more than two quarts. As the horses had watered
in the afternoon, and as there was a quantity of a
herb, much like a green vetch or small pea, we
encamped. I ascended a small eminence to the
north, and with the glasses could distinguish the
creek last left, now running east and west. I saw
water gleaming in its channel, and at the junction of
the little creek we were now on ; there was also
water nearly east. As the horses were feeding
down the creek that way, I felt sure they would go
there and drink in the night. It is, however, very
strange whenever one wants horses to do a certain
thing or feed a certain way, they are almost sure to
do just the opposite, and so it was in the present
case. On returning to camp by a circuitous route,
I found in a small rocky crevice an additional sup-
ply of water, sufficient for our own requirements —
there was nearly a bucketful — and felicity reigned
in the camp. A few cypress pines are rooted in the
rocky shelving sides of the range, which is not of
such elevation as it appeared from a distance.
The highest points are not more than from 700
to 800 feet. I collected some specimens of
plants, which, however, are not peculiar to this

GOSSE'S RANGE. 37

range. I named it Gosse's Range, after Mr. Harry
Gosse. The late rains had not visited this isolated
mass. It is barren and covered with spinifex
from turret to basement, wherever sufficient soil
can be found among the stones to admit of its
growth.

The night of the 9th of September, like the pre-
ceding, was cold and dewy. The horses wandered
quite in the wrong direction, and it was eleven
o'clock before we got away from the camp and
went north to the sheet of water seen yesterday,
where we watered the horses and followed up the
creek, as its course here appeared to be from the
west. The country was level, open, and sandy, but
covered with the widely pervading triodia {irritans).
Some more Xanthorrhcca were seen, and several
small creeks joined this from the ranges to the
north. Small sheets of wafer were seen in the
creek as we passed along, but whether they existed
before the late rains is very problematical. The
weather is evidently getting warmer. We had been
following this creek for two days ; it now turned up
into a confined glen in a more northerly direction.
At last its northern course was so pronounced we
had to leave it, as it evidently took its rise amongst
the low hills in that direction, which shut out any
view of the higher ranges behind them. Our road
was now about west-north-west, over wretched,
stony, barren, mallee- {Eucalyptus) covered low hills
or stony rises ; the mallee scrub being so thick, it
was difficult to drive the horses through it. Farther
on we crested the highest ground the horses had
yet passed over. From here with the glasses I
fancied I saw the timber of a creek in a valley to

38 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

the north-west, in which direction we now went, and
struck the channel of a small dry watercourse, whose
banks were lined with gum-trees. When there is
any water in its channel, its flow is to the west.
The creek joined another, in which, after following
it for a mile or two, I found a small pool of water,
which had evidently lain there for many months,
as it was half slime, and drying up fast. It was
evident the late rains had not fallen here.

In consequence of the windings of the creeks, we
travelled upon all points of the compass, but our
main course was a little west of north-west. The
day was warm enough, and when we camped we
felt the benefit of what shade the creek timber
could afford. Some of the small vetch, or pea-like
plant, of which the horses are so fond, existed here.
To-day we saw a single quandong tree {Fusanus ;
one of the sandal woods, but not of commerce) in
full bearing, but the fruit not yet ripe. I also saw a
pretty drooping acacia, whose leaves hung in small
bunches together, giving it an elegant and pendulous
appearance. This tree grows to a height of fifty
feet; and some were over a foot through in the
barrel.

The flies to-day were exceedingly troublesome :
a sure sign of increasing temperature. We saw
some emus, but being continually hunted by the
natives, they were too shy to allow us to get within
shot of them. Some emu steaks would come in
very handy now. Near our pool of slime a so-called
native orange tree {Capparis), of a very poor and
stunted habit, grew ; and we allowed it to keep on
growing.

The stars informed me, in the night, that I was

CARMICHAELS CREEK. 39

almost under the tropic line, my latitude being 23° 29'.
The horses fed well on the purple vetch, their bells
melodiously tinkling in the air the whole night long.
The sound of the animals' bells, in the night, is
really musical to the explorer s ear. I called the
creek after Mr. Carmichael ; and hoping it would
contain good water lower down, decided to follow
it, as it trended to the west. We found, however,
in a few miles, it went considerably to the south of
west, when it eventually turned up again to the
north-west.

We still had the main line of mountains on our
right, or north of us : and now, to the south, another
line of low hills trended up towards them; and there
is evidently a kind of gap between the two lines of
ranges, about twenty-five miles off. The country
along the banks of Carmichael's Creek was open and
sandy, with plenty of old dry grass, and not much
triodia ; but to the south, the latter and mallee scrub
approached somewhat near. We saw several small
ponds of water as we passed along, but none of any
size. In seven or eight miles it split into several
channels, and eventually exhausted itself upon an
open grassy swamp or plain. The little plain looked
bright and green. I found some rain water, in clay
pans, upon it. A clay pan is a small area of ground,
whose top soil has been washed or blown away,
leaving the hard clay exposed ; and upon this sur-
face, one, two, three, or (scarcely) more inches of
rain water may remain for some days after rain : the
longer it remains the thicker it gets, until at last it
dries in cakes which shine like tiles ; these at length
crumble away, and the clay pan is swept by winds
clean and ready for the next shower. In the course

40 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

of time it becomes enlarged and deepened. They
are very seldom deep enough for ducks.

The grass and herbage here were excellent.
There were numerous kangaroos and emus on the
plain, but they preferred to leave us in undisturbed
possession of it. There were many evidences of
native camping places about here ; and no doubt
the natives look upon this little circle as one of their
happy hunting grounds. To-day I noticed a tree
in the mallee very like a Currajong tree. This
being the most agreeable and fertile little spot I
had seen, we did not shift the camp, as the horses
were in clover. Our little plain is bounded on the
north by peculiar mountains ; it is also fringed with
scrub nearly all round. The appearance of the
northern mountains is singular, grotesque, and very
difficult to describe. There appear to be still three
distinct lines. One ends in a bluff, to the east-
north-east of the camp ; another line ends in a bluff
to the north-north-east ; while the third continues
along the northern horizon. One point, higher than
the rest in that line, bears north 26° west from camp.
The middle tier of hills is the most strange-looking ;
it recedes in the distance eastwards, in almost
regular steps or notches, each of them being itself a
bluff, and all overlooking a valley. The bluffs have
a circular curve, are of a red colour, and in per-
spective appear like a gigantic flat stairway, only
that they have an oblique tendency to the south-
ward, caused, I presume, by the wash of ocean
currents that, at perhaps no greatly distant geo-
logical period, must have swept over them from the
north. My eyes, however, were mostly bent upon
the high peak in the northern line ; and Mr. Car-

A RACE-COURSE. 41

michael and I decided to walk over to, and ascend
it. It was apparently not more than seven or eight
miles away.

As my reader is aware, I left the Finke issuing
through an impracticable gorge in these same
ranges, now some seventy-five miles behind us, and
in that distance not a break had occurred in the
line whereby I could either get over or through it,
to meet the Finke again ; indeed, at this distance
it was doubtful whether it were worth while to
endeavour to do so, as one can never tell what
change may take place, in even the largest of
Australian streams, in such a distance. When last
seen, it was trending along a valley under the foot
of the highest of three tiers of hills, and coming
from the west ; but whether its sources are in those
hills, or that it still runs on somewhere to the north
of us, is the question which I now hope to solve.
I am the more anxious to rediscover the Finke, if
it still exists, because water has been by no means
plentiful on the route along which I have lately
been travelling ; and I believe a better country
exists upon the other side of the mountains.

At starting, Carmichael and I at first walked
across the plain, we being encamped upon its
southern end. It was beautifully grassed, and had
good soil, and it would make an excellent race-
course, or ground for a kangaroo hunt. We saw
numbers of kangaroos, and emus too, but could get
no shots at them. In three miles the plain ended
in thick, indeed very dense, scrub, which continued
to the foot of the hills ; in it the grass was long, dry,
and tangled with dead and dry burnt sticks and
timber, making it exceedingly difficult to walk

42 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

through. Reaching the foot of the hills, I found
the natives had recently burnt all the vegetation
from their sides, leaving the stones, of which it was
composed, perfectly bare. • It was a long distance
to the top of the first ridge, but the incline was
easy, and I was in great hopes, if it continued so,
to be able to get the horses over the mountains at
this spot. Upon arriving at the top of the slope, I
was, however, undeceived upon that score, for we
found the high mount, for which we were steering,
completely separated from us by a yawning chasm,
which lay, under an almost sheer precipice, at our
feet. The high mountain beyond, near the crown,
was girt around by a solid wall of rock, fifty or sixty
feet in height, from the edge of which the summit
rose. It was quite unapproachable, except, perhaps,
in one place, round to the northward.

The solid rock of which it had formerly been
composed had, by some mighty force of nature,
been split into innumerable fissures and fragments,
both perpendicularly and horizontally, and was
almost mathematically divided into pieces or
squares, or unequal cubes, simply placed upon one
another, like masons' work without mortar. The
lower strata of these divisions were large, the upper
tapered to pieces not much larger than a brick, at
least they seemed so from a distance. The whole
appearance of this singular mount was grand and
awful, and I could not but reflect upon the time
when these colossal ridges were all at once rocking
in the convulsive tremblings of some mighty volcanic
shock, which shivered them into the fragments I
then beheld. I said the hill we had ascended
ended abruptly in a precipice ; by going farther

THE TROPIC CLIME OF YOUTH. 43

round we found a spot, which, though practicable,
was difficult enough to descend. At the bottom of
some of the ravines below I could see several small
pools of water gleaming in little stony gullies.

The afternoon had been warm, if not actually
hot, and our walking and climbing had made us
thirsty ; the sight of water made us all the more
so. It was now nearly sundown, and it would be
useless to attempt the ascent of the mountain, as
by the time we could reach its summit, the sun
would be far below the horizon, and we should
obtain no view at all.

It was, however, evident that no gap or pass
existed by which I could get my horses up, even if
the country beyond were ever so promising. A few
of the cypress or Australian pines (Callitris) dotted
the summits of the hills, they also grew on the
sides of some of the ravines below us. We had,
at least I had, considerable difficulty in descending
the almost perpendicular face to the water below.
Carmichael got there before I did, and had time
to sit, laving his feet and legs in a fine little rock
hole full of pure water, filled, I suppose, by the late
rains. The water, indeed, had not yet ceased to
run, for it was trickling from hole to hole. Upon
Mr. Carmichael inquiring what delayed me so long,
I replied : ** Ah, it is all very easy for you ; you
have two circumstances in your favour. You are
young, and therefore able to climb, and besides, you
are in the tropic. *' To which he very naturally
replies, "If am in the tropic you must be also/'
I benignly answer, *' No, you are in the tropic
clime of youth." While on the high ground no
view of any kind, except along the mountains for

44 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

a mile or two east and west, could be obtained. I
was greatly disappointed at having such a toilsome
walk for so little purpose. We returned by a more
circuitous route, eventually reaching the camp very
late at night, thoroughly tired out with our walk.
I named this mountain Mount Musgrave. It is
nearly 1 700 feet above the level of the surrounding
country, and over 3000 feet above the sea. The
next day Mr. Carmichael went out to shoot game ;
there were kangaroos, and in the way of birds
there were emus, crows, hawks, quail, and bronze-
winged pigeons ; but all we got from his expedition
was nil. The horses now being somewhat refreshed
by our stay here, we proceeded across the little
plain towards another high bluff hill, which loomed
over the surrounding country to the west-north-west.
Flies were troublesome, and very busy at our eyes ;
soon after daylight, and immediately after sunrise,
it became quite hot.

Traversing first the racecourse plain, we then
entered some mulga scrub ; the mulga is an
acacia, the wood extremely hard. It grows to a
height of twenty to thirty feet, but is by no means
a shady or even a pretty tree ; it ranges over an
enormous extent of Australia. The scrub we now
entered had been recently burnt near the edge of
the plain ; but the further we got into it, the worse
it became. At seven miles we came to stones,
triodia, and mallee, a low eucalyptus of the gum-
tree family, growing generally in thick clumps from
one root : its being rooted close together makes it
difficult travelling to force one's way through. It
grows about twenty feet high. The higher grade
of eucalypts or gum-trees delight in water and a

ROOT WATER, 45

good soil, and nearly always line the banks of
watercourses. The eucalypts of the mallee species
thrive in deserts and droughts, but contain water
in their roots which only the native inhabitants of
the country can discover. A white man would die
of thirst while digging and fooling around trying to
get the water he might know was preserved by the
tree, but not for him ; while an aboriginal, upon the
other hand, coming to a mallee-tree, after perhaps
travelling miles through them without noticing one,
will suddenly make an exclamation, look at a tree,
go perhaps ten or twelve feet away, and begin to
dig. In a foot or so he comes upon a root, which he
shakes upwards, gradually getting more and more
of it out of the ground, till he comes to the foot of
the tree ; he then breaks it off, and has a root
perhaps fifteen feet long — this, by the way, is an
extreme length. He breaks the root into sections
about a foot long, ties them into bundles, and
stands them up on end in a receptacle, when they
drain out a quantity of beautifully sweet, pure
water. A very long root such as I have men-
tioned might give nearly a bucketful of water ; but
woe to the white man who fancies he can get water
out of mallee. There are a few other trees of
different kinds that water is also got from, as I
have known it obtained from the mulga, acacia
trees, and from some casuarina trees ; it depends
upon the region they are in, as to what trees give
the most if any water, but it is an aboriginal art at
any time or place to find it.

The mallee we found so dense that not a third
of the horses could be seen together, and with
great difficulty we managed to reach the foot of

46 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

a small pine-clad hill lying under the foot of the
high bluff before mentioned — there a small creek
lined with eucalypts ran under its foot. Though
our journey to-day was only twelve miles, that
distance through such horrible scrubs took us many
hours. From the top of the piny hill I could see
a watercourse to the south two or three miles
away ; it is probably Carmichael's Creek, reformed,
after splitting on the plain behind ; Carmichael
found a little water-hole up this channel, with
barely sufficient water for our use. The day had
been disagreeably warm. I rode over to the creek
to the south, and found two small puddles in its
bed ; but there was evidently plenty of water to be
got by digging, as by scratching with my hands I
soon obtained some. The camp which Carmichael
and Robinson had selected, while I rode over to
the other creek, was a most wretched place, in the
midst of dense mallee and amidst thick plots of
triodia, which we had to cut away before we could
sit down.

The only direction in which we could see a yard
ahead of us was up towards the sky ; and as we
were not going that way, it gave us no idea of our
next line of route. The big bluff we had been
steering for all day was, I may say, included in our
skyward view, for it towered above us almost
overhead. Being away when the camp was
selected, I was sorry to hear that the horses had
all been let go without hobbles ; as they had been
in such fine quarters for three nights at the last
camp on the plain, it was more than probable they
would work back through the scrub to it in the
night. The following morning not a horse was to

A SLIP. 47

be found ! Robinson and I went in search of them,
and found they had split into several mobs. I only
got three, and at night Robinson returned with
only six, the remainder had been missed in the
dense scrubs. The thermometer stood at 95° in
the shade, and there was a warm wind blowing.
Robinson had a fine day s work, as he had to walk
back to the camp on the plain for the horses he
got. In the afternoon I attempted the high bluff
immediately overlooking the camp. I had a bit
of cliff-climbing, and reached the summit of one
hill of some elevation, 1300 feet, and then found
that a vast chasm, or ravine, separated me from the
main mountain chain. It would be dark before I
could — if I could — reach the summit, and then I
should get no view, so I returned to the camp.
The height was considerable, as mountains in this
part of the world go, as it towered above the
hill I was upon, and was 500 or 600 feet higher.
These mountains appear to be composed of a kind
of conglomerate granite ; very little timber existed
upon them, but they were splendidly supplied with
high, strong, coarse spinifex. I slipped down a
gully, fell into a hideous bunch of this horrid stuff,
and got pricked from head to foot ; the spiny points
breaking off in my clothes and flesh caused me
great annoyance and pain for many days after.
Many beautiful flowers grew on the hillsides, in
gullies and ravines ; of these I collected several.
We secured what horses we had, for the night,
which was warm and sultry. In the morning
Robinson and I rode after the still missing ones ;
at the plain camp we found all except one, and by
the time we returned it was night.

48 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

Not hobbling the horses in general, we had some
difficulty in finding a pair of hobbles for each, and
not being able to do so, I left one in the mob
without. This base reptile surreptitiously cravi^led
away in the night by himself. As our camp was
the most wretched dog-hole it was possible for a
man to get into, in the midst of dense mallee,
triodia, and large stones, I determined to escape
from it, before looking for the now two missing
animals. The water was completely exhausted.
We moved away south-westerly for about three
miles, to the creek I had scratched in some days
ago ; now we had to dig a big hole with a shovel,
and with a good deal of labour we obtained a
sufficient supply for a few days.

A NEW CAMP. 49

CHAPTER IV.

FROM I7TH SEPTEMBER TO 1ST OCTOBER, 1 872.

Search for the missing horses — Find one — Hot wind and flying
sand — Last horse recovered — Annoyed by flics — Mountains
to the west — Fine timber — Gardiner's Range — Mount
Solitary — Follow the creek — Dig a tank — Character of the
country — Thunderstorms — Mount Peculiar — A desolate
region — Sandhills — Useless rain — A bare granite hill — No
water — Equinoctial gales — Search for water — Find a rock
reservoir — Native fig-trees — Gloomy and desolate view —
The old chain — Hills surrounded by scrubs — More hills to
the west — Difficult watering-place — Immortelles — Cold
weather — View from a hill — Renewed search for water —
Find a small supply — Almost unapproachable — Effects of
the spinifex on the horses — Pack-horses in scrubs — The
Mus conditor — Glistening micaceous hills — Unsuccessful
search — Waterless hill nine hundred feet high — Oceans
of scrub — Retreat to last reservoir — Natives* smokes
— Night without water — Unlucky day — Two horses lost —
Recover them — Take a wrong turn — Difficulty in watering the
horses — An uncomfortable camp — Unsuccessful searches —
Mount Udor — Mark a tree — Tender-footed horses — Poor
feed — Sprinkling rain — Flies again troublesome — Start for
the western ranges — Difficult scrubs — Lonely camp — Horses
away — Reach the range — No water — Retreat to Mount
Udor — Slight rain — Determine to abandon this region —
Corkwood trees — Ants* nests — Glow-worms — Native poplar-
trees — Peculiar climate — Red gum-trees — A mare foals —
Depart for the south — Remarks on the country.

Having fixed our camp at a new place, in the
afternoon of the 17th September, Robinson and I
again went to look after the horses. At three miles

VOL. I. E

so AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

above the camp we found some water; soon after
we got the tracks of one horse and saw that he
had been about there for a day or two, as the
tracks were that age. We made a sweep out
round some hills, found the tracks again, much
fresher, and came upon the horse about seven miles
from the camp. The other horse was left for
to-morrow. Thermometer 96°, sky overcast, rain
imminent.

During the night of the i8th of September a
few heat-drops of rain fell. I sent Robinson away
to the plain camp, feeling sure he would find the
rover there. A hot wind blew all day, the sand
was flying about in all directions. Robinson got
the horse at last at the plain, and I took special
care to find a pair of hobbles for him for this
night at all events. The flies were an intoler-
able nuisance, not that they were extraordinarily
numerous, but so insufferably pertinacious. I think
the tropic fly of Australia the most abominable
insect of its kind. From the summit of the hill I
ascended on Sunday, I found the line of mountains
still ran on to the west, the farthest hills appeared
fifty miles away. As they extend so far, and are
the principal features in sight, I shall follow them,
in hopes of meeting some creek, or river, that may
carry me on to the west. It is a remarkable fact
that such high hills as I have been following should
send out no creek whose course extends farther
than ten or twelve miles. I could trace the creek
I am now on by its timber for only a few miles, its
course appearing south of west. The country in
its immediate neighbourhood is open, and timbered
with fine casuarina trees ; the grass is dry and long,

DIG FOR WATER. 51

and the triodla approaches to within a quarter of a
mile of it. The line of hills I previously mentioned
as running along to the south of us, we had now
run out. I named them Gardiner's Range, after a
friend of Mr. Carmichaers. There is, however,
one small isolated hill, the farthest outpost of that
line, some three miles away to the south-west ; the
creek may probably take a bend down towards it.
I called it Mount Solitary. This creek is rather
well timbered, the gum-trees look fresh and young,
and there is some green herbage in places, though
the surface water has all disappeared.

There was so little water at the camp tank, we
had to send the horses up the creek three miles to
water, and on their return I was not sorry to be
moving again, for our stay at these two last camps
had been compulsory, and the anxiety, trouble, and
annoyance we had, left no very agreeable remi-
niscences of the locality in our minds.

We travelled along the creek all day, cutting off
the bends, but without seeing any signs of water :
towards evening we set to work to try if we could
get any by digging. In about four feet, water
began to drain in, but, the sand being so loose, we
had to remove an enormous quantity to enable a
horse to drink. Some of the horses would not go
into it, and had to be watered with a canvas bucket.
The supply seemed good, but it only drained in
from the sides. Every time a horse drank we had
to clear out the sand for the next ; it therefore took
until late before all were satisfied. The country
was still open, and timbered with fine black oak, or
what is so called in Australia. It is a species of
casuarina, of the same family but distinct from the

E 2

52 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

beautiful desert oak. Triodia reigned supreme
within half a mile. At this camp the old grass had
been burnt, and fresh young green shoots appeared in
its place ; this was very good for the horses. A few
drops of rain fell ; distant rumblings of thunder and
flashes of lightning now cooled the air. While we
were at breakfast the next morning, a thunderstorm
came up to us from the west, then suddenly turned
away, only just sprinkling us, though we could see
the rain falling heavily a few yards to the south.
We packed up and went off, hoping to find a better-
watered region at the hills westwards. There was
an extraordinary mount a little to the west of north
from us ; it looked something like a church ; it was
over twenty miles away : I called it Mount Peculiar.
Leaving the creek on our left, to run itself out into
some lonely flat or dismal swamp, known only to
the wretched inhabitants of this desolate region —
over which there seems to brood an unutterable
stillness and a dread re()ose — we struck into sand-
hill country, rather open, covered with the triodia
or spinifex, and timbered with the casuarina or
black oak trees. We had scarcely gone two miles
when our old thunderstorm came upon us — it had
evidently missed us at first, and had now come to
look for us — and it rained heavily. The country was
so sandy and porous that no water remained on the
surface. We travelled on and the storm travelled
with us — the ground sucking up every drop that
fell. Continuing our course, which was north 67°
west, we travelled twenty-five miles. At this dis-
tance we came in sight of the mountains I was
steering for, but they were too distant to reach
before night, so, turning a little northward to the

A ROCK RESERVOIR. 53

foot of a low, bare, white granite hill, I hoped to find
a creek, or at least some ledges in the rocks, where
we might get some water. Not a drop was to be
found. Though we had been travelling in the rain
all day and accomplished thirty miles, we were
obliged to camp without water at last. There was
good feed for the horses, and, as it was still raining,
they could not be very greatly in want of water.
We fixed up our tent and retired for the night, the
wind blowing furiously, as might reasonably be ex-
pected, for it was the eve of the vernal equinox,
and this I supposed was our share of the equinoctial
gales. We were compelled in the morning to re-
move the camp, as we had not a drop of water, and
unless it descended in sheets the country could not
hold it, being all pure red sand. The hill near us
had no rocky ledges to catch water, so we made off
for the higher mountains for which we were steering
yesterday. Their nearest or most eastern point
was not more than four miles away, and we went
first to it. I walked on ahead of the horses with
the shovel, to a small gully I saw with the glasses,
having some few eucalypts growing in it. I walked
up it, to and over rocky ledges, down which at
times, no doubt, small leaping torrents roar. Very
little of yesterday's rain had fallen here ; but most
fortunately I found one small rock reservoir, with
just sufficient water for all the horses. There was
none either above or below in any other basin, and
there were many better-looking places, but all were
dry. The water in this one must have stood for
some time, yesterday's rain not having affected it in
the least. The place at which I found the water
was the most difficult for horses to reach ; it was

54 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

almost impracticable. After finding this opportune
though awkwardly situated supply, I climbed to
the summit of the mount. On the top was a native
fig-tree in full bearing ; the fruit was ripe and
delicious. It is the size of an ordinary marble,
yellow when unripe, and gradually becoming red,
then black : it is full of small seeds. I was dis-
turbed from my repast by seeing the horses, several
hundred feet below me, going away in the wrong
direction, and I had to descend before I had time
to look around ; but the casual glance I obtained
gave me the most gloomy and desolate view imagin-
able ; one, almost enough to daunt the explorer from
penetrating any farther into such a dreadful region.
To the eastward, I found I had now long outrun the
old main chain of mountains, which had turned up
to the north, or rather north- north-westward ; be-
tween me and it a mass of jumbled and broken
mounts appeared ; each separate one, however, was
almost surrounded by scrubs, which ran up to the
foot of the hill I was upon. Northward the view
was similar. To the west the picture was the same,
except that a more defined range loomed above the
intervening scrubs — the hills furthest away in that
direction being probably fifty miles distant. The
whole horizon looked dark and gloomy — I could
see no creeks of any kind, the most extensive water
channels were mere gullies, and not existing at all
at a mile from the hills they issued from.

Watering our horses proved a difficult and tedious
task ; as many of them would not approach the
rocky basin, the water had to be carried up to them
in canvas buckets. By the time they were all
watered, and we had descended from the rocky

TRICKLING WATER. 55

guHy, the day had passed with most miraculous
celerity. The horses did not finish the water, there
being nearly sufficient to give them another drink.
The grass was good here, as a little flat, on which
grew some yellow immortelles, had recently been
burnt. I allowed the horses to remain and drink up
the balance of the water, while I went away to
inspect some other gorges or gullies in the hills to
the west of us, and see whether any more water
could be found. The day was cool and fine.

I climbed to the summit of a hill about 800 feet
from its base. The view was similar to yesterday's,
except that I could now see these hills ran on
west for twelve or fifteen miles, where the country
was entirely covered with scrubs. Little gullies,
with an odd, and stunted, gum-tree here and there,
were seen. Few of these gullies were more than
six feet wide, and the trumpery little streams that
descend, in even their most flooded state, would be
of but little service to anybody. I had wandered
up and down hills, in and out of gullies, all the
morning, but had met no single drop of water, and
was returning disappointed to the camp when, on
trying one more small scrubby, dreadfully-rocky
little gully which I had missed, or rather passed by,
in going out, I was fortunate enough to discover a
few small rocky holes full of the purest fluid. This
treasure was small indeed, but my gratitude was
great; for what pleased me most was the rather
strange fact that the water was trickling from one
basin to another, but with the weakest possible
flow. Above and below where I found this water
the gully and the rocks were as dry as the desert
around. Had the supply not been kept up by the

56 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

trickling, half my horses would have emptied all the
holes at a draught.

The approach to this water was worse, rougher,
rockier, and more impracticable than at the camp ;
I was, however, most delighted to have found it,
otherwise I should have had to retreat to the last
creek. I determined, however, not to touch it now,
but to keep it as a reserve fund, should I be unable
to find more out west. Returning to camp, we
gave the horses all the water remaining, and left
the spot perfectly dry.

We now had the line of hills on our right, and
travelled nearly west-north-west. Close to the foot
of the hills the country is open, but covered with
large stones, between the interstices of which grow
huge bunches of the hideous spinifex, which both
we and the horses dread like a pestilence. We
have encountered this scourge for over 200 miles.
All around the coronets of most of the horses, in
consequence of their being so continually punctured
with the spines of this terrible grass, it has caused a
swelling, or tough enlargement of the flesh and
skin, giving them the appearance of having ring-
bones. Many of them have the flesh quite raw and
bleeding; they are also very tender-footed from
traversing so much stony ground, as we have lately
had to pass over. Bordering upon the open stony
triodia ground above-mentioned is a bed of scrubs,
composed chiefly of mulga, though there are various
other trees, shrubs, and plants amongst it. It is so
dense and thick that in it we cannot see a third of
the horses at once ; they, of course, continually
endeavour to make into it to avoid the stones and
triodia ; for, generally speaking, the pungent triodia

THE MUS CONDITOR. 57

and the mulga acacia appear to be antagonistic
members of the vegetable kingdom. The ground
in the scrubs is generally soft, and on that account
also the horses seek it. Out of kindness, I have
occasionally allowed them to travel in the scrubs,
when our direct course should have been on
the open, until some dire mishap forces us out
again ; for, the scrubs being so dense, the horses
are compelled to crash through them, tearing the
coverings of their loads, and frequently forcing
sticks in between their backs or sides and their
saddles, sometimes staking themselves severely.
Then we hear a frantic crashing through the scrubs,
and the sounds of the pounding of horse-hoofs are
the first notice we receive that some calamity has
occurred. So soon as we ourselves can force our
way through, and collect the horses the best way
we can, yelling and howling to one another to say
how many each may have got, we discover one or
two missing. Then they have to be tracked ; por-
tions of loads are picked up here and there, and, in
the course of an hour or more, the horse or horses
are found, repacked, and on we push again, mostly
for the open, though rough and stony spinifex
ground, where at least we can see what is going on.
These scrubs are really dreadful, and one s skin and
clothes get torn and ripped in all directions. One
of these mishaps occurred to-day.

In these scrubs are met nests of the building rat
(Mus conditor). They form their nests with twigs
and sticks to the height of four feet, the circum-
ference being fifteen to twenty. The sticks are all
lengths up to three feet, and up to an inch in
diameter. Inside are chambers and galleries, while

5 8 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

in the ground underneath are tunnels, which are
carried to some distance from their citadel. They
occur in many parts of Australia, and are occasionally
met with on plains where few trees can be found.
As a general rule, they frequent the country in-
habited by the black oak (casuarina). They can live
without water, but, at times, build so near a water-
course as to have their structures swept away by
floods. Their flesh is very good eating.

In ten miles we had passed several little gullies,
and reached the foot of other hills, where a few
Australian pines were scattered here and there.
These hills have a glistening, sheening, laminated
appearance, caused by the vast quantities of mica
which abounds in them. Their sides are furrowed
and corrugated, and their upper portions almost
bare rock. Time was lost here in unsuccessful
searches for water, and we departed to another
range, four or five miles farther on, and apparently
higher ; therefore perhaps more likely to supply us
with water. Mr. Carmichael and I ascended the
range, and found it to be 900 feet from its base ; but
in all its gullies water there was none. The view
from the summit was just such as I have described
before — an ocean of scrubs, with isolated hills or
ranges appearing like islands in most directions.
Our horses had been already twenty-four hours with-
out water. I wanted to reach the far range to the
west, but it was useless to push all the pack-horses
farther into such an ocean of scrubs, as our rate of
progress in them was so terribly slow. I decided
to return to the small supply I had left as a reserve,
and go myself to the far range, which was yet some
thirty miles away. The country southward seemed

UNLUCKY DAY. 59

to have been more recently visited by the natives
than upon our line of march, which perhaps was
not to be wondered at, as what could they get to
live on out of such a region as we had got
into ? Probably forty or fifty miles to the south,
over the tops of some low ridges, we saw the
ascending smoke of spinifex fires, still attended to
by the natives ; and in the neighbourhood, no
doubt, they had some watering places. On our
retreat we travelled round the northern face of the
hills, upon whose south side we had arrived, in
hopes of finding some place having water, where I
might form a depot for a few days. By night we
could find none, and had to encamp without, either
for ourselves or our horses.

The following day seemed foredoomed to be un-
lucky ; it really appeared as though everything
must go wrong by a natural law. In the first place,
while making a hobble peg, while Carmichael and
Robinson were away after the horses, the little piece
of wood slipped out of my hand, and the sharp
blade of the knife went through the top and nail of
my third finger and stuck in the end of my thumb.
The cut bled profusely, and it took me till the horses
came to sew my mutilated digits up. It was late
when we left this waterless spot. As there was a
hill with a prepossessing gorge, I left Carmichael
and Robinson to bring the horses on, and rode off
to see if I could find water there. Though I rode
and walked in gullies and gorges, no water was to
be found. I then made down to where the horses
should have passed along, and found some of them
standing with their packs on, in a small bit of open
ground, surrounded by dense scrubs, which by

6o AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

chance I came to, and nobody near. I called and
waited, and at last Mr. Carmichael came and told
me that when he and Robinson debouched with the
horses on this little open space, they found that two
of the animals were missing, and that Robinson had
gone to pick up their tracks. The horse carrying
my papers and instruments was one of the truants.
Robinson soon returned, not having found the track.
Neither of them could tell when they saw the
horses last. I sent Mr. Carmichael to another hill
two or three miles away, that we had passed, but
not inspected yesterday, to search for water, while
Robinson and I looked for the missing horses. And
lest any more should retreat during our absence, we
tied them up in two mobs. Robinson tied his lot
up near a small rock. We then separately made
sweeps round, returning to the horses on the op-
posite side, without success. We then went again
in company, and again on opposite sides singly, but
neither tracks nor horses could be found. Five
hours had now elapsed since I first heard of their
absence. I determined to make one more circuit
beyond any we had already taken, so as to include
the spot we had camped at ; this occupied a couple
of hours. When I returned I was surprised to hear
that»Robinson had found the horses in a small but
extra dense bunch of scrub not twenty yards from
the spot where he had tied his horses up. While I
was away he had gone on top of the little stony
eminence close by, and from its summit had ob-
tained a bird's-eye view of the ground below, and
thus perceived the two animals, which had never
been absent at all. It seemed strange to me that I
could not find their tracks, but the reason was

A ROUGH PLACE. 6i

there were no tracks to find. I took it for granted
when Carmichael told me of their absence that
they were absent, but he and Robinson were both
mistaken.

It was now nearly evening, and I had been riding
my horse at a fast pace the whole day ; I was
afraid we could not reach the reserve water by
night. But we pushed on, Mr. Carmichael joining
us, not having found any water. At dusk we
reached the small creek or gully, up in whose rocks
I had found the water on Sunday. At a certain
point the creek split in two, or rather two channels
joined, and formed one, and I suppose the same
ill fate that had pursued me all day made me mis-
take the proper channel, and we drove the un-
fortunate and limping horses up a wretched, rocky,
vile, scrubby, almost impenetrable gully, where
there was not a sup of water.

On discovering my error, we had to turn them
back over the same horrible places, all rocks, dense
scrubs, and triodia, until we got them into the
proper channel. When near the first little hole I
had formerly seen, I dismounted, and walked up to
see how it had stood during my absence, and was
grieved to discover that the lowest and largest hole
was nearly dry. I bounded up the rocks to the
next, and there, by the blessing of Providence, was
still a sufficient quantity, as the slow trickling of
the water from basin to basin had not yet entirely
ceased, though its current had sadly diminished
since my last visit only some seventy hours since.

By this time it was dark, and totally impossible
to get the horses up the gully. We had to get them
over a horrible ridge of broken and jumbled rocks.

62 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

having to get levers and roll away huge boulders, to
make something like a track to enable the animals
to reach the water.

Time (and labour) accomplishes all things, and
in time the last animals thirst was quenched, and
the last drop of water sucked up from every basin.
I was afraid it would not be replenished by morn-
ing. We had to encamp in the midst of a thicket of
a kind of willow acacia with pink bark all in little
curls, with a small and pretty mimosa-like leaf.
This bush is of the most tenacious nature — you may
bend it, but break it won't. We had to cut away
sufficient to make an open square, large enough for
our packs, and to enable us to lie down, also to
remove the huge bunches of spinifex that occupied
the space ; then, when the stones were cleared
away, we had something like a place for a camp.
By this time it was midnight, and we slept, all
heartily tired of our day's work, and the night being
cool we could sleep in comfort. Our first thought
in the morning was to see how the basins looked.
Mr. Carmichael went up with a keg to discover, and
on his return reported that they had all been re-
filled in the night, and that the trickling continued,
but less in volume. This was a great relief to my
mind ; I trust the water will remain until I return
from those dismal-looking mountains to the west. I
made another search during the morning for more
water, but without success, and I can only conclude
that this water was permitted by Providence to
remain here in this lonely spot for my especial
benefit, for no more rain had fallen here than at any
of the other hills in the neighbourhood, nor is this
one any higher or different from the others which I

MOUNT UDOR. 63

visited, except that this one had a little water and
all the rest none. In gratitude therefore to this
hill I have called it Mount Udor. Mount Udorwas
the only spot where water was to be found in this
abominable region, and when I left it the udor had
departed also. I got two of my riding-horses shod
to-day, as the country I intended to travel over is
about half stones and half scrub. I have marked a
eucalyptus or gum-tree in this gully close to the foot
of the rock where I found the water [|^], as this
is my twenty-first camp from Chambers' Pillar.
My position here is in latitude 23° 14', longitude
130° 55', and variation 3° east nearly. I could not
start to-day as the newly shod horses are so tender-
footed that they seem to go worse in their shoes ;
they may be better to-morrow. The water still
holds out. The camp is in a confined gully, and
warm, though it is comparatively a cool day. The
grass here is very poor, and the horses wander a
great deal to look for feed. Four of them could
not be found in the morning. A slight thunder-
storm passed over in the night, with a sprinkling of
rain for nearly an hour, but not sufficient fell to
damp a pocket-handkerchief. It was, however, quite
sufficient to damp my hopes of a good fall. The
flies are very numerous here and troublesome. After
watering my two horses I started away by myself
for the ranges out west. I went on our old tracks
as far as they went, then I visited some other hills
on my line of march. As usual, the country alter-
nated between open stones at the foot of the hills
and dense scrubs beyond. I thought one of the
beds of scrubs I got into the densest I had ever
seen, it was actually impenetrable without cutting

64 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

one's way, and I had to turn around and about in all
directions. 1 had the greatest difficulty to get the
horse I was leading to come on at all ; I had no
power over him whatever. I could not use either a
whip or a stick, and he dragged so much that he
nearly pulled me out of my saddle, so that I could
hardly tell which way I was going, and it was
extremely difficult to keep anything like a straight
course. Night overtook me, and I had to encamp
in the scrubs, having travelled nearly forty miles.
A few drops of rain fell ; it may have benefited
the horses, but to me it was a nuisance. I was up,
off my sandy couch early enough, but had to wait
for daylight before I could get the horses ; they
had wandered away for miles back towards the
camp, and I had the same difficulties over again
when getting them back to where the saddles were.
In seven or eight miles after starting I got out of
the scrubs. At the foot of the mountain for which
I was steering there was a little creek or gully, with
some eucalypts where I struck it. It was, as all
the others had been, scrubby, rocky, and dry. I
left the horses and ascended to the top, about 900
feet above the scrubs which surrounded it. The
horizon was broken by low ranges nearly all round,
but scrubs as usual intervened between them. I
descended and walked into dozens of gullies and
rocky places, and I found some small holes and
basins, but all were dry. At this spot I was eighty
miles from a sufficient supply of water ; that at the
camp, forty-five miles away, may be gone by the
time I return. Under these circumstances I could
not go any farther west. It was now evening again.
I left these desolate hills, the Ehrenberg Ranges of

DECIDE TO RETREAT. 65

my map, and travelled upon a different line, hoping
to find a better or less thick route through the
scrubs, but it was just the same, and altogether
abominable. Night again overtook me in the dire-
ful scrubs, not very far from the place at which I
had slept the previous night ; the most of the day
was wasted in an ineffectual search for water.

On Sunday morning, the 29th September, having
hobbled my horses so short, although the scrubs
were so thick, they were actually in sight at dawn ;
I might as well have tied them up. Starting at
once, I travelled to one or two hills we had passed
by, but had not inspected before. I could find no
water anywhere. It was late when I reached the
camp, and I was gladdened to find the party still
there, and that the water supply had held out so
lonor. On the following morning, Monday, the 30th
of September, it was at a very low ebb ; the trickling
had ceased in the upper holes, though it was still
oozing into the lower ones, so that it was absolutely
necessary to pack up and be off from this wretched
place. It was an expedition in itself to get water
for the camp, from the rock basins above. The
horses dreaded to approach it on account of their
tender feet. It required a lot of labour to get
sufficient firewood to boil a quart pot, for, although
we were camped in a dense thicket, the small wood
of which it was composed was all green, and useless
for firewood.

I intended to retreat from here to-day, but just
as Robinson was starting to find the horses a shower
of rain came on, and hoping it might end in a
heavier fall, I decided to remain until to-morrow, to
give the rain a chance, — especially as, aided by the

VOL. I. F

66 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

slight rain, the horses could do without a drink,
there now being only one drink remaining, as the
trickling had entirely ceased, though we yet had the
little holes full. The rain fell in a slight and gentle
shower two or three hours, but it left no trace of its
fall, even upon the rocks, so that our water supply
was not increased by one pint.

To-morrow I am off ; it is useless to remain in a
region such as this. But where shall I go next ?
The creek I had last got water in, might even now
be dry. I determined to try and reach it farther
down its channel. If it existed beyond where I left
it, I expected, in twenty-five to thirty miles, in a
southerly direction, to strike it again : therefore, I
decided to travel in that direction. A few quan-
dongs, or native peach trees, exist amongst these
gullies ; also a tree that I only know by the name
of the corkwood tree.* The wood is soft, and light
in weight and colour. It is by no means a hand-
some tree. It grows about twenty feet high.
Generally two or three are huddled together, as
though growing from one stem. Those I saw were
nearly all dead. They grow in the little water
channels. The ants here, as in nearly the whole of
Tropical Australia, build nests from four to six feet
high — in some other parts I have known them
twenty — to escape, I suppose, from the torrents of
rain that at times fall in these regions : the height

* " Sesbania grandiflora," Baron Mueller says, " North-Western
Australia ; to the verge of the tropics ; Indian Archipelago ; called
in Australia the corkwood tree ; valuable for various utilitarian
purposes. The red-flowered variety is grandly ornamented. Dr.
Roxburgh recommends the leaves and young pods as an exquisite
spinach ; the plant is shy of frost."

A MARE FOALS. 67

also protects their eggs and stores from the fires the
natives continually keep burning. This burning,
perhaps, accounts for the conspicuous absence of
insects and reptiles. One night, however, I certainly
saw glowworms. These I have only seen in one
other region in Australia — near Geelong, in Victoria.
A tree called the native poplar {Codonocarpus
cotinifolius) is also found growing in the scrubs and
water-channels of this part of the country. The
climate of this region appears very peculiar. Scarcely
a week passes without thunderstorms and rain ; but
the latter falls in such small quantities that it is
almost useless. It is evidently on this account that
there are no waters or watercourses deserving of the
name. I should like to know how much rain would
have to fall here before any could be discovered
lying on the ground. All waters found in this part
of the country must be got out of pure sand, in a
water channel or pure rock. The native orange-
tree grows here, but the specimens I have met are
very poor and stunted. The blood-wood-trees, or
red gum-trees, which always enliven any landscape
where they are found, also occur. They are not,
however, the magnificent vegetable structures which
are known in Queensland and Western Australia,
but are mostly gnarled and stunted. They also grow
near the watercourses.

The 1st October broke bright and clear, and I
was only too thankful to get out of this horrible
region and this frightful encampment, into which
the fates had drawn me, alive. When the horses
arrived, there was only just enough water for all to
drink ; but one mare was away, and Robinson said
she had foaled. The foal was too young to walk

F 2

68 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

or move ; the dam was extremely poor, and had
been losing condition for some time previously ; so
Robinson went back, killed the foal, and brought
up the mare. Now there was not sufficient water
to satisfy her when she did come. Mr. Carmichael
and I packed up the horses, while Robinson was
away upon his unpleasant mission. When he brought
her up, the mare looked the picture of misery. At
last I turned my back upon this wretched camp and
region ; and we went away to the south. It was half-
past two o'clock when we got clear from our prison.
It is almost a work of supererogation to make
many further remarks on the character of this
region — I mean, of course, since we left the Finke.
I might, at a word, condemn it as a useless desert.
I will, however, scarcely use so sweeping a term.
I can truly say it is dry, stony, scrubby, and
barren, and this in my former remarks any one
who runs can read. I saw very few living creatures,
but it is occasionally visited by its native owners,
to whom I do not grudge the possession of it.
Occasionally the howls of the native dog {Cams
familiaris) — or dingo as he is usually called — were
heard, and their footprints in sandy places seen.
A small species of kangaroo, known as the scrub
wallaby, were sometimes seen, and startled from
their pursuit of nibbling at the roots of plants, upon
which they exist ; but the scrubs being so dense,
and their movements so rapid, it was utterly im-
possible to get a shot at them. Their greatest enemy
— besides the wild black man and the dingo —
is the large eagle-hawk, which, though flying at an
enormous height, is always on the watch ; but it is
only when the wallaby lets itself out, on to the stony

DIAMOND BIRDS. 69

open, that the enemy can swoop down upon it. The
eagle trusses it with his talons, smashes its head with
its beak to quiet it, and, finally, if a female, flies
away with the victim to its nest for food for its
young, or if a male bird, to some lonely rock
or secluded tarn, to gorge its fill alone. I have
frequently seen these eagles swoop on to one, and,
while struggling with its prey, have galloped up and
secured it myself, before the dazed wallaby could
collect its senses. Other birds of prey, such as
sparrow-hawks, owls, and mopokes (a kind of owl),
inhabit this region, but they are not numerous.
Dull-coloured, small birds, that exist entirely
without water, are found in the scrubs ; and in
the mornings they are sometimes noisy, but not
melodious, when there is a likelihood of rain ; and
the smallest of Australian ornithology, the diamond
bird {Amadina) of Gould, is met with at almost
every watering place. Reptiles and insects, as I
have said, are scarce, on account of the continual
fires the natives use in their perpetual hunt for
food.

70 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

CHAPTER V.

FROM 1ST TO I5TH OCTOBER, 1 872.

A bluff hill — Quandong trees — The mulga tree — Travel S. S.E.
— Mare left behind — Native peaches— Short of water — Large
tree — Timbered ridges — Horses suffer from thirst — Pine-
trees — Native encampments — Native paintings in caves —
Peculiar crevice — A rock tarn — A liquid prize — Caverns and
caves — A pretty oasis — Ripe figs — Recover the mare —
Thunder and lightning — Ornamented caves — Hands of glory
— A snake in a hole — Heavy dew — Natives burning the
country — A rocky eminence — Waterless region — Cheerless
view — A race of Salamanders — Circles of fire — Wallaby and
pigeons — ^Wallaby traps — Return to depot — Water diminish-
ing — Glen Edith — Mark trees — The tarn of Auber — Land-
marks to it — Seeds sown — Everything in miniature — Journey
south — Desert oaks — A better region — Kangaroos and emus
— Desert again — A creek channel — Water by scratching —
Find more — Splendid grass — Native signs — Farther south —
Beautiful green — Abundance of water — Follow the channel —
Laurie's Creek — Vale of Tempe — A gap or pass-^-Without
water — Well-grassed plain — Native well — Dry rock holes —
Natives' fires — New ranges — High mountain — Return to
creek — And Glen Edith — Description of it

On starting from Mount Udor, on the ist October,
our road lay at first over rocks and stones, then
for two or three miles through thick scrubs. The
country afterwards became a trifle less scrubby,
and consisted of sandhills, timbered with casuarina,
and covered, as usual, with triodia. In ten miles
we passed a low bluff hill, and camped near it, with-
out any water. On the road we saw several quan-

THE MULGA TREE, 71

dong trees, and got some of the ripe fruit. The
day was warm and sultry ; but the night set in cool,
if not cold. Mr. Carmichael went to the top of the
low bluff, and informed me of the existence of low
ridges, bounding the horizon in every direction
except to the S.S.E., and that the intervening
country appeared to be composed of sandhills, with
casuarinas, or mulga scrubs.

In Baron von Mueller's extraordinary work on
Select Extra-tropical Plants, with indications of
their native countries, and some of their uses,
these remarks occur: — ''Acacia aneura, Ferd.
v. Mueller. Arid desert — interior of extra tropic
Australia. A tree never more than twenty-five
feet high. The principal * mulga ' tree. Mr. S.
Dixon praises it particularly as valuable for fodder
of pasture animals ; hence it might locally serve for
ensilage. Mr. W. Johnson found in the foliage a
considerable quantity of starch and gum, rendering
it nutritious. Cattle and sheep browse on the twigs
of this, and some allied species, even in the presence
of plentiful grass ; and are much sustained by such
acacias in seasons of protracted drought. Drome-
daries in Australia crave for the mulga as food.
Wood excessively hard, dark-brown ; used, pre-
ferentially, by the natives for boomerangs, sticks
with which to lift edible roots, and shafts of phrag-
mites, spears, wommerahs, nulla-nuUas, and jagged
spear ends. Mr. J. H. Maiden determined the per-
centage of mimosa tannic acid in the perfectly dry
bark as 8 •62." The mulga bears a small woody
fruit called the mulga apple. It somewhat re-
sembles the taste of apples, and is sweet. If crab
apples, as is said, were the originals of all the

72 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

present kinds, I imagine an excellent fruit might
be obtained from the mulga by cultivation. As
this tree is necessarily so often mentioned in my
travels, the remarks of so eminent a botanist upon
it cannot be otherwise than welcome.

In the direction of S.S.E. Mr. Carmichael said
the country appeared most open. A yellow flower,
of the immortelle species, which I picked at this
little bluff, was an old Darling acquaintance ; the
vegetation, in many respects, resembles that of the
River Darling. There was no water at this bluff,
and the horses wandered all over the country during
the night, in mobs of twos and threes. It was mid-
day before we got away- For several hours we
keptonS.S.E., over sandhills and through casuarina
timber, in unvarying monotony. At about five
o'clock the little mare that had foaled yesterday
gave in, and would travel no farther. We were
obliged to leave her amongst the sandhills.

We continued until we had travelled forty miles
from Mount Udor, but no signs of a creek or any
place likely to produce or hold water had been
found. The only difference in the country was that
it was now more open, though the spinifex was as
lively as ever.

We passed several quandong trees in full fruit, of
which we ate a great quantity ; they were the most
palatable, and sweetest I have ever eaten. We also
passed a few Currajong-trees {Brachychiton\ At this
point we turned nearly east. It was, however, now
past sundown, too dark to go on any farther, and
we had again to encamp without water, our own small
supply being so limited that we could have only a
third of a pint each, and we could not eat any-

HORSES SUFFERING FROM THIRST. 73

thing in consequence. The horses had to be very
short-hobbled to prevent their straying, and we
passed the night under the umbrage of a colossal
Currajong-tree. The unfortunate horses had now
been two days and nights without water, and could
not feed ; being so short-hobbled, they were almost
in sight of the camp in the morning. From the
top of a sandhill I saw that the eastern horizon was
bounded by timbered ridges, and it was not very
probable that the creek I was searching for could
lie between us and them. Indeed, I concluded that
the creek had exhausted itself, not far from where
we had left it. The western horizon was now
bounded by low ridges, continuous for many miles.
I decided to make for our last camp on the creek,
distant some five-and-twenty miles north-east. At
five miles after starting, we came upon a mass of
eucalypts which were not exactly gum-trees, though
of that family, and I thought this might be the end
of the exhausted creek channel, only the timber
grew promiscuously on the tops of the sandhills, as
in the lower ground between them. There was no
appearance of any flow of water ever having passed
by these trees, and indeed they looked more like
gigantic mallee-trees than gums, only that they
grew separately. They covered a space of about
half a mile wide. From here I saw that some
ridges were right before me, at a short distance, but
where our line of march would intersect them they
seemed so scrubby and stony I wished to avoid
them. At one point I discerned a notch or gap.
The horses were now very troublesome to drive,
the poor creatures being very bad with thirst. I
turned on the bearing that would take me back to

74 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

the old creek, which seemed the only spot in this
desolate region where water could be found, and
there we had to dig to get it. At one place on the
ridges before us appeared a few pine-trees {Calli-
tris) which enliven any region they inhabit, and
there is usually water in their neighbourhood. The
rocks from which the pines grew were much broken ;
they were yet, however, five or six miles away. We
travelled directly towards them, and upon approach-
ing, I found the rocks upheaved in a most singular
manner, and a few gum-trees were visible at
the foot of the ridge. I directed Carmichael and
Robinson to avoid the stones as much as possible,
while I rode over to see whether there was a creek
or any other place where water might be procured.
On approaching the rocks at the foot of the ridge,
I found several enormous overhanging ledges of
sandstone, under which the natives had evidently
been encamped long and frequently ; and there was
the channel of a small watercourse scarcely more
than six feet wide. I rode over to another over-
hanging ledge and found it formed a verandah wide
enough to make a large cave ; upon the walls of
this, the natives had painted strange devices of
snakes, principally in white ; the children had
scratched imperfect shapes of hands with bits of
charcoal. The whole length of this cave had fre-
quently been a large encampment. Looking about
with some hopes of finding the place where these
children of the wilderness obtained water, I espied
about a hundred yards away, and on the opposite
side of the little glen or valley, a very peculiar-
looking crevice between two huge blocks of sand-
stone, and apparently not more than a yard wide.

AN OPPORTUNE WATER. 75

I rode over to this spot, and to my great delight
found a most excellent little rock tarn, of nearly
an oblong shape, containing a most welcome and
opportune supply of the fluid I was so anxious to
discover. Some green slime rested on a portion of
the surface, but the rest was all clear and pure
water. My horse must have thought me mad, and
any one who had seen me might have thought I had
suddenly espied some basilisk, or cockatrice, or
mailed saurian ; for just as the horse was preparing
to dip his nose in the water he so greatly wanted,
I turned him away and made him gallop off after
his and my companions, who were slowly passing
away from this liquid prize. When I hailed, and
overtook them, they could scarcely believe that
our wants were to be so soon and so agreeably
relieved. There was abundance of water for all
our requirements here, but the approach was so
narrow that only two horses could drink at one
time, and we had great difficulty in preventing some
of the horses from precipitating themselves, loads
and all, into the inviting fluid. No one who has
not experienced it, can imagine the pleasure which
the finding of such a treasure confers on the thirsty,
hungry, and weary traveller; all his troubles for
the time are at an end. Thirst, that dire affliction
that besets the wanderer in the Australian wilds,
at last is quenched ; his horses, unloaded, are
allowed to roam and graze and drink at will,
free from the encumbrance of hobbles, and the
traveller s other appetite of hunger is also at length
appeased, for no matter what food one may carry,
it is impossible to eat it without water. This was
truly a mental and bodily relief After our hunger

76 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

had been satisfied I took a more extended survey
of our surroundings, and found that we had dropped
into a really very pretty little spot.

Low sandstone hills, broken and split into most
extraordinary shapes, forming huge caves and
caverns, that once no doubt had been some of the
cavernous depths of the ocean, were to be seen in
every direction ; little runnels, with a few gum-trees
upon them, constituted the creeks. Callitris or
cypress pines, ornamented the landscape, and a few
blood-wood or red gum-trees also enlivened the
scene. No porcupine, but real green grass made up
a really pretty picture, to the explorer at least.
This little spot is indeed an oasis. I had climbed
high hills, traversed untold miles of scrub, and gone
in all directions to try and pick up the channel of a
wretched dry creek, when all of a sudden I stum-
bled upon a perfect little paradise. I found the
dimensions of this little tarn are not very large, nor
is the quantity of water in it very great, but un-
touched and in its native state it is certainly a
permanent water for its native owners. It has
probably not been filled since last January or Feb-
ruary, and it now contains amply sufficient water to
enable it to last until those months return, provided
that no such enormous drinkers as horses draw
upon it ; in that case it might not last a month. I
found the actual water was fifty feet long, by eight
feet wide, and four feet deep ; the rocks in which
the water lies are more than twenty feet high.
The main ridges at the back are between 200
and 300 feet high. The native fig-tree {Ficiis
orbicularis) grows here most luxuriantly ; there are
several of them in full fruit, which is delicious when

RECOVER THE MARE. 77

thoroughly ripe. I had no thought of deserting
this welcome little spot for a few days. On the
following morning Mr. Carmichael and I loaded a
pack-horse with water and started back into the
scrub to where we left the little mare the day before
yesterday. With protractor and paper I found
the spot we left her at bore from this place
south 70^ west, and that she was now not more
than thirteen or fourteen miles away, though we had
travelled double the distance since we left her.
We therefore travelled upon that bearing, and at
thirteen and a half miles we cut our former tract at
about a quarter of a n\ile from where we left the
mare. We soon picked up her track and found she
had wandered about a mile, although hobbled, from
where we left her. We saw her standing, with her
head down, under an oak tree truly distressed. The
poor little creature was the picture of misery, her
milk was entirely gone — she was alive, and that was
all that could be said of her. She swallowed up the
water we brought with the greatest avidity ; and I
believe could have drank as much as a couple of
camels could have carried to her. We let her try
to feed for a bit with the other three horses, and
then started back for the tarn. On this line we did
not intersect any of the eucalyptus timber we had
passed through yesterday. The mare held up very
well until we were close to the camp, when she gave
in again ; but we had to somewhat severely persuade
her to keep moving, and at last she had her
reward by being left standing upon the brink of the
water, where she was [like Cyrus when Queen
Thomeris had his head cut off into a receptacle
filled with blood] enabled to drink her fill.

78 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

In the night heavy storm-clouds gathered o'er us,
and vivid lightnings played around the rocks near
the camp : a storm came up and seemed to part in
two, one half going north and the other south ; but
just before daybreak we were awakened by a crash
of thunder that seemed to split the hills ; and we
heard the wrack as though the earth and sky would
mingle ; but only a few drops of rain fell, too little
to leave any water, even on the surface of the flat
rocks close to the camp. This is certainly an ex-
traordinary climate. I do not believe a week ever
passes without a shower of rain, but none falls to do
any good : one good fall in three or even six months,
beginning now, would be infinitely more gratifying,
to me at least ; but I suppose I must take it as I
find it. The rain that does fall certainly cools the
atmosphere a little, which is a partial benefit.

I found several more caves to-day up in the rocks,
and noticed that the natives here have precisely the
same method of ornamenting them as the natives
of the Barrier Range and mountains east of the
Darling. You see the representation of the human
hand here, as there, upon the walls of the caves :
it is generally coloured either red or black. The
drawing is done by filling the mouth with charcoal
powder if the device is to be black, if red with red
ochre powder, damping the wall where the mark is
to be left, and placing the palm of the hand against
it, with the fingers stretched out ; the charcoal or
ochre powder is then blown against the back of the
hand ; when it is withdrawn, it leaves the space
occupied by the hand and fingers clean, while the
surrounding portions of the wall are all black or
red, as the case may be. One device represents

NATIVE PAINTINGS. 79

a snake going into a hole : the hole is actually in
the rock, while the snake is painted on the wall, and
the spectator is to suppose that its head is just in-
side the hole ; the body of the reptile is curled
round and round the hole, though its breadth is out
of all proportion to its length, being seven or eight
inches thick, and only two to three feet long. It is
painted with charcoal ashes which had been mixed
up with some animals or reptile's fat. Mr. Car-
michael left upon the walls a few choice specimens
of the white man's art, which will help, no doubt, to
teach the young native idea, how to shoot either in
one direction or another.

To-day it rained in light and fitful showers, which,
as usual, were of no use, except indeed to cause a
heavy dew which wet all our blankets and things,
for we always camp without tent or tarpaulin when-
ever it does not actually rain. The solar beams of
morning soon evaporated the dew. To the W.S.W.
the natives were hunting, and as usual burning the
spinifex before them. They do not seem to care
much for our company ; for ever since we left the
Glen of Palms, these cave-dwelling, reptile-eating
Troglodytes have left us severely alone. As there
was a continuous ridge for miles to the westward,
I determined to visit it ; for though this little tarn,
that I had so opportunely found, was a most
valuable discovery, yet the number of horses I had
were somewhat rapidly reducing the water supply,
and I could plainly perceive that, with such a strain
upon it, it could not last much more than a month,
if that ; I must therefore endeavour to find some
other watered place, where next I may remove.

On the morning of the 7th October it was evident

8o AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

a warm day was approaching. Mr. Carmichael and
I started away to a small rocky eminence, which
bore a great resemblance to the rocks immediately
behind this camp, and in consequence we hoped to
find more water there. The rocks bore south 62°
west from camp ; we travelled over sandhills,
through scrub, triodia, and some casuarina country,
until we reached the hill in twenty miles. It was
composed of broken red sandstone rock, being
isolated from the main ridge ; other similar heaps
were in the vicinity.

We soon discovered that there was neither water
nor any place to hold it. Having searched all about,
we went away to some other ridges, with exactly
the same result ; and at dark we had to encamp in
the scrubs, having travelled forty miles on fifty
courses. The thermometer had stood at 91° in the
shade, where we rested the horses in the middle of
the day. Natives* smokes were seen mostly round
the base of some other ridges to the south-east,
which I determined to visit to-morrow ; as the fires
were there, natives must or should be also ; and as
they require water to exist, we might find their
hidden springs. It seemed evident that only in the
hills or rocky reservoirs water could be found.

We slept under the shadow of a hill, and mounted
to its top in the morning. The view was anything
but cheering ; ridges, like islands in a sea of scrub,
appeared in connection with this one ; some distance
away another rose to the south-east. We first
searched those near us, and left them in disgust,
for those farther away. At eight or nine miles we
reached the latter, and another fruitless search was
gone through. We then went to another and

SALAMANDERS. 8i

another, walking over the stones and riding through
the scrubs. We found some large rocky places,
where water might remain for many weeks, after
being filled ; but when such an occurrence ever had
taken place, or ever would take place again, it was
impossible to tell. We had wandered into and
over such frightful rocky and ungodly places, that
it appeared useless to search farther in such a
region, as it seemed utterly impossible for water to
exist in it all. Nevertheless, the natives were about,
burning, burning, ever burning ; one would think
they were of the fabled salamander race, and lived
on fire instead of water. The fires were starting
up here and there around us in fresh and narrowing
circles ; it seems as though the natives can only
get water from the hollow spouts of some trees and
from the roots of others, for on the surface of the
earth there is none. We saw a few rock wallaby.
a different variety to the scrub or open sandhill
kinds. Bronze-winged pigeons also were occa-
sionally startled as we wandered about the rocks ;
these birds must have water, but they never drink
except at sundown, and occasionally just before
sunrise, then they fly so swiftly, with unerring
precision, on their filmy wings, to the place they
know so well will supply them ; and thirty, forty, or
fifty miles of wretched scrub, that would take a poor
human being and his horse a whole day to accom-
plish, are passed over with the quickness of thought.
The birds we flushed up would probably dart across
the scrubs to the oasis we had so recently found.
Our horses were getting bad and thirsty ; the day
was warm ; 92° in tVip c-u^j^^ jj^ thirst and wretched-
ness, is hot enougii for any poor animal or man

VOL. I. G

82 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

either. But man enters these desolate regions to

please himself or Satisfy his desire for ambition to

win for himself — what ? a medal, a record, a name ?

Well, yes, dear reader, these may enter into his

thoughts as parts of a tangible recognition of his

labours ; but a nobler idea also actuates him — either

to find, for the benefit of those who come after him,

some beauteous spots where they may dwell ; or if

these regions can't supply them, of deserts only can

he tell ; but the unfortunate lower is forced into

such frightful privations to please the higher animals.

We now turned up towards the north-west, amongst

scrubs, sandhills, and more stony ridges, where

another fruitless search ended as before. Now to

the east of us rose a more continuous ridge, which

we followed under its (base) foot, hoping against

hope to meet some creek or gully with water.

Gullies we saw, but neither creeks or water. We

continued on this line till we struck our outgoing

track, and as it was again night, we encamped

without water. We had travelled in a triangle.

To-day s march was forty-three miles, and we were

yet twenty-nine from the tarn — apparently the only

water existing in this extraordinary and terrible

region.

In one or two places to-day, passing through
some of the burning scrubs and spinifex, we had
noticed the fresh footprints of several natives. Of
course they saw us, but they most perseveringly
shunned us, considering us probably far too low
a type of animal for their society. We also saw
to-day dilapidated old yards, where they had
formerly yarded emu or wallaby, though we saw
none of their wurleys, or mymys, or gunyahs, or

A FILL OF WATER. 83

whatever name suits best. The above are all names
of the same thing, of tribes of natives, of different
parts of the Continent — as Lubra, Gitiy Nungo^ &c.,
are for woman. No doubt these natives carry water
in wallaby or other animals skins during their
burning hunts, for they travel great distances in a
day, walking and burning, and picking up every-
thing alive or roasted as they go, and bring the
game into the general camp at night. We passed
through three different lines of conflagrations to-day.
I only wish I could catch a native, or a dozen, or a
thousand ; it would be better to die or conquer in
a pitched battle for water, than be for ever fighting
these direful scrubs and getting none. The follow-
ing morning the poor horses looked wretched in the
extreme ; to remain long in such a region without
water is very severe upon them ; it is a wonder
they are able to carry us so well. From this desert
camp our depot bore north 40° east. The horses
were so exhausted that, though we started early
enough, it was late in the afternoon when we had
accomplished the twenty-nine or thirty miles that
brought us at last to the tarn. Altogether they
had travelled 1 20 miles without a drink. The water
in the tarn had evidently shrunk. The day was warm
— thermometer 92° in shadiest place at the depot.
A rest after the fatigue of the last few days was
absolutely necessary before we made a fresh attempt
in some new locality.

It is only partly a day's rest — for I, at least, have
plenty to do ; but it is a respite, and we can drink
our fill of water. And oh ! what a pleasure, what a
luxury that is ! How few in civilisation will drink
water when they can get anything else. Let them

G 2

84 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

try going without, in the explorer s sense of the
expression, and then see how they will long for it !
The figs on the largest tree, near the cave opposite,
are quite ripe and falling ; neither Carmichael nor
Robinson care for them, but I eat a good many,
though I fancy they are not quite wholesome for a
white man's digestive organs ; at first, they act as an
aperient, but subsequently have an opposite effect.
I called this charming little oasis Glen Edith, after
one of my nieces. I marked two gum-trees at this

camp, one 24^ > ^"^ another

Glen Edith
24. Oct. 9, 72.

Mr. Carmichael and Robinson also marked one with
their names. The receptacle in which I found the
water I have called the Tarn of Auber, after Allan
Poe's beautiful lines, in which that name appears,
as I thought them appropriate to the spot. He
says : —

** It was in the drear month of October,
The leaves were all crisped and sere,
Adown by the dank Tarn of Auber,
In the misty mid regions of Weir."

If these are not the misty mid regions of Weir,
I don't know where they are. There are two
heaps of broken sandstone rocks, with cypress pines
growing about them, which will always be a land-
mark for any future traveller who may seek the
wild seclusion of these sequestered caves. The bear-
ing of the water from them is south 51° west, and it
is about a mile on that bearing from the northern
heap ; that with a glance at my map would enable
any ordinary bushman to find it. I sowed a quantity
of vegetable seeds here, also seeds of the Tasmanian
blue gum-tree, some wattles and clover, rye and

GLEN EDITH. 85

prairie-grass. In the bright gleams of the morning,
in this Austral land of dawning, it was beautiful to
survey this little spot ; everything seemed in minia-
ture here — little hills, little glen, little trees, little
tarn, and little water. Though the early mornings
were cool and pleasant, the days usually turned out

just the opposite. On the nth Mr. Carmichael
and I got fresh horses, and I determined to try
the country more to the south, and leaving Alec
Robinson and the little dog Monkey again in charge
of glen, and camp, and tarn, away we went in that
direction. At first we travelled over sandhills, tim-
bered with the fine Casuarina decalsneana, or desert
oak ; we then met some eucalyptus- trees growing
promiscuously on the tops of the saiKlhilis, as well
as in the hollows. At twelve miles we rode over
a low ridge ; the country in advance appeared no
more inviting than that already travelled. De-
scending to the lower ground, however, we entered

86 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

upon a bit of better country, covered with green
grass, there was also some thick mulga scrub upon
it. Here we saw a few kangaroos and emus, but
could not get a shot at them. Beyond this we
entered timbered country again, the desert oak
being quite a desert sign. In a few miles farther
another ridge fronted us, and a trifle on our left lay
a hollow, or valley, which seemed to offer the best
road, but we had to ride through some very scrubby
gullies, stony, and covered with spinifex. It even-
tually formed the valley of a small creek, which
soon had a few gum-trees on it. After following
this about four miles, we saw a place where the
sand was damp, and got some water by scratching
with our hands. The supply was insufficient, and
we went farther down and found a small hole with
just enough for our three horses, and now, having
found a little, we immediately wanted to find a great
deal more. At twenty-six miles from the tarn we
found a place where the natives had dug, and there
seemed a good supply, so we camped there for the
night. The grass along this creek was magnificent,
being about eight inches high and beautifully green,
the old grass having been burnt some time ago.
It was a most refreshing sight to our triodia-accus-
tomed eyes ; at twelve o clock the thermometer stood
at 94° in the shade. The trend of this little creek,
and the valley in which it exists, is to the south-
east. Having found water here, we were prepared
to find numerous traces of natives, and soon saw
old camps and wurleys, and some recent footmarks.
I was exceedingly gratified to find this water, as I
hoped it would eventually enable me to get out of
the wretched bed of sand and scrub into which we

THE VALE OI' TEMPE. 87

had been forced since leaving the Finke, and which
evidently occupies such an enormous extent of
territory. Our horses fed all night close at hand,
and we were in our saddles early enough. I wanted
to go west, and the further west the better ; but we
decided to follow the creek and see what became
of it, and if any more waters existed in it. We
found that it meandered through a piece of open
plain, splendidly grassed, and delightful to gaze upon.
How beautiful is the colour of green ! What other
colour could even Nature have chosen with which
to embellish the face of the earth ? How, indeed,
would red, or blue, or yellow pall upon the eye !
But green, emerald green, is the loveliest of all
Nature's hues. The soil of this plain was good
and firm. The creek had now worn a deep channel,
and in three miles from where we camped we
came upon the top of a high red bank, with a
very nice little water-hole underneath. There was
abundance of water for 100 or 200 horses for a
month or two, and plenty more in the sand below.
Three other ponds were met lower down, and I
believe water can always be got by digging. We
followed the creek for a mile or two farther, and
found that it soon became exhausted, as casuarina
and triodia sandhills environed the little plain, and
after the short course of scarcely ten miles, the little
creek became swallowed up by those water-devour-
ing monsters. This was named Laurie's Creek.

There was from 6000 to 10,000 acres of fine
grass land in this little plain, and it was such a
change from the sterile, triodia, and sandy country
outside it, I could not resist calling it the Vale
of Tempe. We left the exhausted creek, and

88 AUSTRALIA 7WICE TRAVERSED.

in ten miles from our camp we entered on and
descended into another valley, which was open, but
had no signs of any water. From a hill I saw
some ridges stretching away to the south and
south-west, and to the west also appeared broken
ridges. I decided to travel about south-west, as it
appeared the least stony. In eight miles we had
met the usual country. At eighteen we turned the
horses out for an hour on a burnt patch, during
which the thermometer stood at 94° in the shade ;
we then left for some ridges through a small gap
or pass between two hills, which formed into a small
creek-channel. As it was now dark, we camped
near the pass, without water, having travelled
thirty-five miles. In the morning we found the
country in front of us to consist of a small well-
grassed plain, which was as green, as at the last
camp. The horses rambled in search of water up
into a small gully, which joins this one ; it had a
few gum-trees on it. We saw a place where the
natives had dug for water, but not very recently.
We scratched out a lot of sand with our hands, and
some water percolated through, but the hole was
too deep to get any out for the horses, as we had
no means of removing the sand, having no shovel.
Upon searching farther up the gully we found some
good-sized rock-holes, but unfortunately they were
all dry. We next ascended a hill to view the sur-
rounding country, and endeavour to discover if
there was any feature in any direction to induce us
to visit, and where we might find a fresh supply of
water. There were several fires raging in various
directions upon the southern horizon, and the whole
atmosphere was thick with a smoky haze. After

A HIGH MOUNTAIN. 89

a long and anxious scrutiny through the smoke
far, very far away, a little to the west of south, I
descried the outline of a range of hills, and right
in the smoke of one fire an exceedingly high and
abruptly-ending mountain loomed. To the south-
eastwards other ranges appeared ; they seemed to
lie nearly north and south.

The high mountain was very remote ; it must be
at least seventy or seventy-five miles away, with
nothing apparently between but a country similar
to that immediately before and behind us ; that is
to say, sandhills and scrub. I was, however, de-
lighted to perceive any feature for which to make
as a medium point, and which might help to change
the character and monotony of the country over
which I have been wandering so long. I thought
it not improbable that some extensive watercourses
may proceed from these new ranges which might
lead me at last away to the west. For the present,
not being able to get water at this little glen,
although I believe a supply can be obtained with a
shovel, I decided to return to the tarn at Glen
Edith, which was now fifty-five miles away, remove
the camp to the newly-found creek at the Vale of
Tempe, and then return here, open out this water-
ing place with a shovel, and make a straight line for
the newly-discovered high mountain to the south.
By the time these conclusions had been arrived at,
and our wanderings about the rocks completed, it
was nearly midday ; and as we had thirty-five miles
to travel to get back to the creek, it took us all the
remainder of the day to do so ; and it was late
when we again encamped upon its friendly banks.
The thermometer to-day had stood at 96°. We

90 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

now had our former tracks to return upon to the
tarn. The morning was cool and pleasant, and we
arrived at the depot early. Alec Robinson informed
me that he believed some natives had been prowling
about the camp in our absence, as the little dog had
been greatly perturbed during two of the nights we
were away. It was very possible that some natives
had come to the tarn for water, as well as to spy
out who and what and how many vile and wicked
intruders had found their way into this secluded
spot ; but as they must have walked about on the
rocks they left no traces of their visit.

Oct. 15th. — This mornings meal was to be the
last we should make at our friendly little tarn,
whose opportune waters, ripe figs, miniature moun-
tains, and imitation fortresses, will long linger in my
recollection. Opposite the rocks in which the
water lies, and opposite the camp also, is a series
of small fort-like, stony eminences, standing apart ;
these form one side of the glen ; the other is formed
by the rocks at the base of the main ridge, where
the camp and water are situated. This really was
a most delightful little spot, though it certainly had
one great nuisance, which is almost inseparable from
pine-trees, namely ants. These horrid pests used to
crawl into and over everything and everybody, by
night as well as by day. The horses took their last
drink at the little sweet-watered tarn, and we
moved away for our new home to the south.

LEAVE GLEN EDITH. 91

CHAPTER VI.

FROM I5TH OCTOBER, 1 872, TO 3 1ST JANUARY, 1 873.

Move the camp to new creek — Revisit the pass — Hornets and
diamond birds — More ornamented caves — Map study — Start
for the mountain — A salt lake — A barrier — Brine ponds —
Horses nearly lost — Exhausted horses — Follow the lake — ^A
prospect wild and weird — Mount Olga — Sleepless animals —
A day's rest — A National Gallery — Signal for natives — The
lake again — High hill westward — Mount Unapproachable —
McNicol's range — Heat increasing — Sufferings and dejection
of the horses — Worrill's Pass — Glen Thirsty — Food all gone
— Review of our situation — Horse staked — Pleasure of a
bath — A journey eastward — Better regions — A fine creek —
Fine open country — King's Creek — Carmichael's Crag —
Penny's Creek — Stokes's Creek — A swim — Bagot's Creek —
Termination of the range — Trickett's Creek — George Gill's
range — Petermann's Creek — Return — Two natives — A host
of aborigines — Break up the depot — Improvement in the
horses — Carmichael's resolve — Levi's Range — Follow the
Petermann — Enter a glen — Up a tree — Rapid retreat —
Escape glen — A new creek — Fall over a bank — Middleton's
Pass — Good country — Friendly natives — Rogers's Pass —
Seymour's Range — A fenced-in water-hole — Briscoe's Pass —
The Finke — Resight the pillar — Remarks on the Finke —
Reach the telegraph line — Native boys — I buy one — The
Charlotte Waters — Colonel Warburton — Arrive at the Peake
— News of Dick — Reach Adelaide.

It was late in the day when we left Glen Edith,
and consequently very much later by the time we
had unpacked all the horses at the end of our twenty-
nine mile Stage ; it was then too dark to reach the

92 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

lower or best water-holes. To-day there was an
uncommon reversal of the usual order in the weather
— the early part of the day being hot and sultry,
but towards evening the sky became overcast and
cloudy, and the evening set in cold and windy.
Next morning we found that one horse had staked
himself in the coronet very severely, and that he
was quite lame. I got some mulga wood out of
the wound, but am afraid there is much still remain-
ing. This wood, used by the natives for spear-heads,
contains a virulent poisonous property, and a spear
or stake wound with it is very dangerous. The
little mare that foaled at Mount Udor, and was
such an object of commiseration, has picked up
wonderfully, and is now in good working condition.
I have another mare, Marzetti, soon to foal ; but as
she is fat, I do not anticipate having to destroy
her progeny. We did not move the camp to-day.
Numbers of bronze-winged pigeons came to drink,
and we shot several of them. The following day
Mr. Carmichael and I again mounted our horses,
taking with us a week's supply of rations, and
started off intending to visit the high mountain seen
at our last farthest point. We left Alec Robinson
again in charge of the camp, as he had now got
quite used to it, and said he liked it. He always
had my little dog Monkey for a companion. When
travelling through the spinifex we carried the
little animal. He is an excellent watchdog, and
not a bird can come near the camp without his
giving warning. Alec had plenty of firearms and
ammunition to defend himself with, in case of an
attack from the natives. This, however, I did not
anticipate ; indeed, I wished they would come (in a

ATTEMPT TO REACH THE HIGH MOUNTAIN. 93

friendly way), and had instructed Alec to endeavour
to detain one or two of them until my return if they
should chance to approach. Alec was a very
strange, indeed disagreeable and sometimes uncivil,
sort of man ; he had found our travels so different
from his preconceived ideas, as he thought he was
going on a picnic, and he often grumbled and
declared he would like to go back again. However,
to remain at the camp, with nothing whatever to do
and plenty to eat, admirably suited him, and I felc
no compunction in leaving him by himself. I would
not have asked him to remain if I were in any way
alarmed at his position.

We travelled now by a slightly different route,
more easterly, as there were other ridges in that
direction, and we might find another and a better
watering place than that at the pass. It is only at
or near ridges in this strange region that the tra-
veller can expect to find water, as in the sandy beds
of scrub intervening between them, water would
simply sink away. We passed through some very
thick mulga, which, being mostly dead, ripped our
pack-bags, clothes, and skin, as we had continually
to push the persistent boughs and branches aside to
penetrate it. We reached a hill in twenty miles,
and saw at a glance that no favourable signs of
obtaining water existed, for it was merely a pile of
loose stones or rocks standing up above the scrubs
around. The view was desolate in the extreme ;
we had now come thirty miles, but we pushed on
ten miles for another hill, to the south-east, and
after penetrating the usual scrub, we reached its
base in the dark, and camped. In the morning
I climbed the hill, but no water could be seen or

94 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

procured. This hill was rugged with broken granite
boulders, scrubby with mulga and bushes, and
covered with triodia to its summit. To the south a
vague and strange horizon was visible ; it appeared
flat, as though a plain of great extent existed there,
but as the mirage played upon it, I could not make
anything of it. My old friend the high mountain
loomed large and abrupt at a great distance off, and
it bore 8° 30' west from here, too great a distance
for us to proceed to it at once, without first getting
water for our horses, as it was possible that no
water might exist even in the neighbourhood of
such a considerable mountain. The horses rambled
in the night ; when they were found we started
away for the little pass and glen where we knew
water was to be got, and which was now some
thirty miles away to the west-north-west. We
reached it somewhat late. The day was hot, ther-
mometer 98° in shade, and the horses very thirsty,
but they could get no water until we had dug a
place for them. Although we had reached our
camping ground our day's work was only about to
commence. We were not long in obtaining enough
water for ourselves, such as it was — thick and dirty
with a nauseous flavour — but first we had to tie the
horses up, to prevent them jumping in on us. We
found to our grief that but a poor supply was to be
expected, and though we had not to dig very deep,
yet we had to remove an enormous quantity of sand,
so as to create a sufficient surface to get water to
run in, and had to dig a tank twenty feet long by six
feet deep, and six feet wide at the bottom, though
at the top it was much wider. I may remark — and
what I now say applies to almost every other water

ORNAMENTED CAVES. 95

I ever got by digging in all my wanderings — that
whenever we commenced to dig, a swarm of large
and small red hornets immediately came around us,
and, generally speaking, diamond birds {Amadina)
would also come and twitter near, and when water
was got, would drink in great numbers. With
regard to the hornets, though they swarmed round
our heads and faces in clouds, no one was ever
stung by them, nature and instinct informing them
that we were their friends. We worked and waited
for two hours before one of our three horses could
obtain a drink. The water came so slowly in that
it took nearly all the night before the last animals
thirst was assuaged, as by the time the third got a
drink, the first was ready to begin again, and they
kept returning all through the night. We rested
our horses here to-day to allow them to fill them-
selves with food, as no doubt they will require all
the support they can get to sustain them in their
work before we reach the distant mountain. We
passed the day in enlarging the tank, and were glad
to find that, though no increase in the supply of
water was observable, still there seemed no diminu-
tion, as now a horse could fill himself at one spell.
We took a stroll up into the rocks and gullies of the
ridges, and found a Troglodytes' cave ornamented
with the choicest specimens of aboriginal art. The
rude figures of snakes were the principal objects,
but hands, and devices for shields were also con-
spicuous. One hieroglyph was most striking ; it
consisted of two Roman numerals — a V and an I,
placed together and representing the figure VI ;
they were both daubed over with spots, and were
painted with red ochre. Several large rock-holes

96 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

were seen, but they had all long lain dry. A few
cypress pines grew upon the rocks in several places.
The day was decidedly hot ; the thermometer stood
at ioo° in the shade at three o'clock, and we had to
fix up a cloth for an awning to get sufficient shade
to sit under. Our only intellectual occupation was
the study of a small map of Australia, showing the
routes of the Australian explorers. How often we
noted the facility with which other and more fortu-
nate travellers dropped upon fine creeks and large
rivers. We could only envy them their good for-
tune, and hope the future had some prizes in store
for us also. The next morning, after taking three
hours to water our horses, we started on the bearing
of the high mount, which could not be seen from
the low ground, the bearing being south i8° west.
We got clear of the low hills of the glen, and
almost immediately entered thick scrubs, varied by
high sandhills, with casuarina and triodia on them.
At twelve miles I noticed the sandhills became
denuded of timber, and on our right a small and
apparently grassy plain was visible ; I took these
signs as a favourable indication of a change of
country. At three miles farther we had a white
salt channel right in front of us, with some sheets of
water in it ; upon approaching I found it a perfect
bog. and the water brine itself. We went round this
channel to the left, and at length found a place firm
enough to cross. We continued upon our course,
and on ascending a high sandhill I found we had
upon our right hand, and stretching away to the
west, an enormous salt expanse, and it appeared as
if we had hit exactly upon the eastern edge of it, at
which we rejoiced greatly for a time. Continuing

A SALT EXPANSE. 97

on our course over treeless sandhills for a mile or
two, we found we had not escaped this feature quite
so easily, for it was now right in our road ; it
appeared, however, to be bounded by sandhills a
little more to the left, eastwards ; so we went in
that direction, but at each succeeding mile we saw
more and more of this objectionable feature ; it con-
tinually pushed us farther and farther to the east,
until, having travelled about fifteen miles, and had it
constantly on our right, it swept round under some
more sandhills which hid it from us, till it lay east
and west right athwart our path. It was most per-
plexing to me to be thus confronted by such an
obstacle. We walked a distance on its surface, and
to our weight it seemed firm enough, but the instant
we tried our horses they almost disappeared. The
surface was dry' and encrusted with salt, but brine
spurted out at every step the horses took. We
dug a well under a sandhill, but only obtained
brine.

This obstruction was apparently six or seven
miles across, but whether what we took for its
opposite shores were islands or the main, I could
not determine. We saw several sandhill islands,
some very high and deeply red, to which the mirage
gave the effect of their floating in an ocean of water.
Farther along the shore eastwards were several
high red sandhills ; to these we went and dug
another well and got more brine. We could see
the lake stretching away east or east-south-east as
far as the glasses could carry the vision. Here we
made another attempt to cross, but the horses were
all floundering about in the bottomless bed of this
infernal lake before we could look round. 1 made

VOL. I. H

98 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

sure they would be swallowed up before our eyes.
We were powerless to help them, for we could not
get near owing to the bog, and we sank up over our
knees, where the crust was broken, in hot salt mud.
All I could do was to crack my whip to prevent
the horses from ceasing to exert themselves, and
although it was but a few moments that they
were in this danger, to me it seemed an eternity.
They staggered at last out of the quagmire,
heads, backs, saddles, everything covered with blue
mud, their mouths were filled with salt mud also,
and they were completely exhausted when they
reached firm ground. We let them rest in the
shade of some quandong trees, which grew in
great numbers round about here. From Mount
Udor to the shores of this lake the country had
been continually falling. The northern base of
each ridge, as we travelled, seemed higher by many
feet than the southern, and I had hoped to come
upon something better than this. I thought such a
continued fall of country might lead to a consider-
able watercourse or freshwater basin ; but this salt
bog was dreadful, the more especially as it pre-
vented me reaching the mountain which appeared
so inviting beyond.

Not seeing any possibility of pushing south, and
thinking after all it might not be so far round the
lake to the west, I turned to where we had struck
the first salt channel, and resolved to try what a
more westerly line would produce. The channel in
question was now some fifteen miles away to the
north-westward, and by the time we got back there
the day was done and *' the darkness had fallen from
the wings of night." We had travelled nearly fifty

SEARCH FOR WATER. 99

miles, the horses were almost dead ; the thermometer
stood at 100^ in the shade when we rested under
the quandongs. In the night blankets were un-
endurable. Had there been any food for them the
horses could not eat for thirst, andi were too much
fatigued by yesterday's toil to go out of sight of our
camping place. We followed along the course of
the lake north of west for seven miles, when we
were checked by a salt arm running north-eastwards ;
this we could not cross until we had gone up it a
distance of three miles. Then we made for some
low ridges lying west-south-west and reached them
in twelve miles. There was neither watercourse,
channel, nor rock-holes ; we wandered for several
miles round the ridges, looking for water, but with-
out success, and got back on our morning s tracks
when we had travelled thirty miles. From the top
of these ridges the lake could be seen stretching
away to the west or west-south-west in vast propor-
tions, having several salt arms running back from
it at various distances. Very far to the west was
another ridge, but it was too distant for me to reach
now, as to-night the horses would have been two
nights without water, and the probability was they
would get none there if they reached it. I deter-
mined to visit it, however, but I felt I must first return
to the tank in the little glen to refresh the exhausted
horses. From where we are, the prospect is wild
and weird, with the white bed of the great lake
sweeping nearly the whole southern horizon. The
country near the lake consists of open sandhills,
thickly bushed and covered with triodia ; farther
back grew casuarinas and mulga scrubs.

It was long past the middle of the day when I

H 2

100 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

descended from the hill. We had no alternative
but to return to the only spot where we knew water
was to be had ; this was now distant twenty-one
miles to the north-east, so we departed in a straight
line for it. I was heartily annoyed at being baffled
in my attempt to reach the mountain, which I now
thought more than ever would offer a route out of
this terrible region ; but it seemed impossible to
escape from it. I named this eminence Mount
Olga, and the great salt feature which obstructed
me Lake Amadeus, in honour of two enlightened
royal patrons of science. The horses were now
exceedingly weak ; the bogging of yesterday had
taken a great deal of strength out of them, and the
heat of the last two days had contributed to weaken
them (the thermometer to-day went up to ioi° in
shade). They could now only travel slowly, so
that it was late at night when we reached the little
tank. Fifty miles over such disheartening country
to-day has been almost too much for the poor
animals. In the tank there was only sufficient
water for one horse ; the others had to be tied up
and wait their turns to drink, and the water perco-
lated so slowly through the sand it was nearly mid-
night before they were all satisfied and begun to
feed. What wonderful creatures horses are ! They
can work for two and three days and go three nights
without water, but they can go for ever without
sleep ; it is true they do sleep, but equally true that
they can go without sleeping. If I took my choice
of all creation for a beast to guard and give me
warning while I slept, I would select the horse, for
he is the most sleepless creature Nature has made.
Horses seem to know this ; for if you should by

A NATIONAL GALLERY, loi

chance catch one asleep he seems very indignant
either with you or himself.

It was absolutely necessary to give our horses a
day's rest, as they looked so much out of sorts this
morning. A quarter of the day was spent in water-
ing them, and by that time it was quite hot, and we
had to erect an awning for shade. We were over-
run by ants, and pestered by flies, so in self-defence
we took another walk into the gullies, revisited the
aboriginal National Gallery of paintings and hiero-
glyphics, and then returned to our shade and our
ants. Again we pored over the little German map,
and again envied more prosperous explorers. The
thermometer had stood at ioi° in the shade, and
the greatest pleasure we experienced that day was
to see the ocb of day descend. The atmosphere
had been surcharged all day with smoke, and haze
hung over all the land, for the Autochthones were
ever busy at their hunting fires, especially upon the
opposite side of the great lake ; but at night the
blaze of nearer ones kept up a perpetual light, and
though the fires may have been miles away they
appeared to be quite close. I also had fallen into
the custom of the country, and had set fire to several
extensive beds of triodia, which had burned with
unabated fury ; so brilliant, indeed^ was the illumina-
tion that I could see to read by the light. I kindled
these fires in hopes some of the natives might come
and interview us, but no doubt in such a poorly
watered region the native population cannot be
great, and the few who do inhabit it had evidently
abandoned this particular portion of it until rains
should fall and enable them to hunt while water
remained in it.

102 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

Last night, the 23rd October, was sultry, and
blankets utterly useless. The flies and ants were
wide awake, and the only thing we could congratu-
late ourselves upon, was the absence of mosquitoes.
At dawn the thermometer stood at 70°, and a warm
breeze blew gently from the north. The horses
were found early, but as it took nearly three hours
to water them we did not leave the glen till past
eight o'clock. This time I intended to return to
the ridges we had last left, and which now bore a
little to the west of south-west, twenty-one miles
away. We made a detour so as to inspect some
other ridges near where we had been last. Stony
and low ridgy ground was first met, but the scrubs
were all around. At fifteen miles we came upon a
little firm clayey plain with some salt bushes, and it
also had upon it some clay pans, but they had long
been dry. We found the northern face of the
ridges just as waterless as the southern, which we
had previously searched. The far hills or ridges to
the west, which I now intended to visit, bore nearly
west. Another salt bush plain was next crossed ;
this was nearly three miles long. We now gave
the horses an hour's spell, the thermometer showing
102° in the shade; then, re-saddling, we went on,
and it was nine o'clock at night when we found our-
selves under the shadows of the hills we had steered
for, having them on the north of us.

I searched in the dark, but could find no feature
likely to supply us with water ; we had to encamp
in a nest of triodia without any water, having
travelled forty-eight miles through the usual kind of
country that occupies this region's space. At day-
light the thermometer registered 70°, that being the

A BOGGED HORSE. 103

lowest during the night. On ascending the hill
above us, there was but one feature to gaze upon —
the lake still stretching away, not only in un-
diminished, but evidently increasing size, towards
the west and north-west. Several lateral channels
were thrown out from the parent bed at various
distances, some broad and some narrow. A line of
ridges, with one hill much more prominent than any
I had seen about this country, appeared close down
upon the shores of the lake ; it bore from the hill I
stood upon south 68° west, and was about twenty
miles off. A long broad salt arm, however, ran
up at the back of it between it and me, but just
opposite there appeared a narrow place that I
thought we might cross to reach it.

The ridge I was on was red granite, but there
was neither creek nor rock-hole about it. We now
departed for the high hill westward, crossing a very
boggy salt channel with great difficulty, at five miles ;
in five more we came to the arm. It appeared
firm, but unfortunately one of the horses got fright-
fully bogged, and it was only by the most frantic
exertions that we at length got him out. The
bottom of this dreadful feature, if it has a bottom,
seems composed entirely of hot, blue, briny mud.
Our exertions in extricating the horse made us
extremely thirsty ; the hill looked more inviting the
nearer we got to it, so, still hoping to reach it, I
followed up the arm for about seven miles in a north-
west direction. It proved, however, quite impass-
able, and it seemed utterly useless to attempt to
reach the range, as we could not tell how far we
might have to travel before we could get round the
arm. I believe it continues in a semicircle and

I04 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

joins the lake again, thus isolating the hill I wished
to visit. This now seemed an island it was
impossible to reach. We were sixty-five miles
away from the only water we knew of, with no
likelihood of any nearer ; there might certainly be
water at the mount I wished to reach, but it was
unapproachable, and I called it by that name ; no
doubt, had I been able to reach it, my progress
would still have been impeded to the west by the
huge lake itself. I could get no water except brine
upon its shores, and I had no appliances to distil
that ; could I have done so, I would have followed
this feature, hideous as it is, as no doubt sooner
or later some watercourses must fall into it either
from the south or the west. We were, however, a
hundred miles from the camp, with only one man
left there, and sixty-five from the nearest water. I
had no choice but to retreat, baffled, like Eyre with
his Lake Torrens in 1840, at all points. On the
southern shore of the lake, and apparently a very
long way off» a range of hills bore south 30° west ;
this range had a pinkish appearance and seemed of
some length. Mr. Carmichael wished me to call it
McNicoFs Range, after a friend of his, and this I did.
We turned our wretched horses' heads once more
in the direction of our little tank, and had good
reason perhaps to thank our stars that we got away
alive from the lone unhallowed shore of this
pernicious sea. We kept on twenty-eight miles
before we camped, and looked at two or three
places, on the way ineffectually, for some signs of
water, having gone forty-seven miles ; thermometer in
shade 103°, the heat increasing one degree a day for
several days. When we camped w,e were hungry,

REACH THE LITTLE TANK, 105

thirsty- tired, covered all over with dry salt mud ; so
that it is not to be wondered at if our spirits were
not at a very high point, especially as we were
making a forced retreat. The night was hot,
cloudy, and sultry, and rain clouds gathered in the
sky. At about i a.m. the distant rumblings of
thunder were heard to the west-north-west, and I
was in hopes some rain might fall, as it was appa-
rently approaching ; the thunder was not loud, but
the lightning was most extraordinarily vivid ; only
a few drops of rain fell, and the rest of the night
was even closer and more sultry than before.

Ere the stars had left the sky we were in our
saddles again ; the horses looked most pitiable
objects, their flanks drawn in, the natural vent was
distended to an open and extraordinary cavity ;
their eyes hollow and sunken, which is always the
case with horses when greatly in want of water.
Two days of such stages will thoroughly test the
finest horse that ever stepped. We had thirty-six
miles yet to travel to reach the water. The horses
being so jaded, it was late in the afternoon when
they at last crawled into the little glen ; the last few
miles being over stones made the pace more slow.
Not even their knowledge of the near presence of
water availed to inspirit them in the least ; pro-
bably they knew they would have to wait for hours
at the tank, when they arrived, before their cravings
for water could be appeased. The thermometer
to-day was 104° in the shade. When we arrived
the horses had walked 1 3 1 miles without a drink,
and it was no wonder that the poor creatures were
exhausted. When one horse had drank what little
water there was, we had to re-dig the tank, for the

io6 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

wind or some other cause had knocked a vast
amount of the sand into it again. Some natives
also had visited the place while we were away,
their fresh tracks were visible in the sand around,
and on the top of the tank. They must have
stared to see such a piece of excavation in their
territory. When the horses did get water, two of
them rolled, and groaned, and kicked, so that I
thought they were going to die ; one was a mare,
she seemed the worst, another was a strong young
horse which had carried me well, the third was my
old favourite riding-horse ; this time he had only
carried the pack, and was badly bogged ; he was
the only one that did not appear distressed when
filled with water, the other two lay about in evident
pain until morning. About the middle of the night
thunder was again heard, and flash after flash of
even more vivid lightnings than that of the previous
night enlightened the glen ; so bright were the
flashes, being alternately fork and sheet lightning,
that for nearly an hour the glare never ceased.
The thunder was much louder than last night's, and
a slight mizzling rain for about an hour fell. The
barometer had fallen considerably for the last two
days, so I anticipated a change. The rain was too
slight to be of any use ; the temperature of the
atmosphere, however, was quite changed, for by the
morning the thermometer was down to 48°.

The horses were not fit to travel, so we had to
remain, with nothing to do, but consult the little
map again, and lay off" my position on it. My
farthest point I found to be in latitude 24° 38' and
longitude 130°. For the second time I had reached
nearly the same meridian. I had been repulsed at

GLEN THIRSTY. 107

both points, which were about a hundred miles
apart, in the first instance by dry stony ranges in
the midst of dense scrubs, and in the second by a
huge salt lake equally destitute of fresh water. It
appears to me plain enough that a much more
northerly or else more southerly course must be
pursued to reach the western coast, at all events in
such a country, it will be only by time and perse-
verance that any explorer can penetrate it. I think
I remarked before that we entered this little glen
through a pass about half-a-mile long, between two
hills of red sandstone. I named this Worrills Pass,
after another friend of Mr. Carmichael. The little
glen in which we dug out the tank I could only
call Glen Thirsty, for we never returned to it but
ourselves and our horses, were choking for water.
Our supply of rations, although we had eked it out
with the greatest possible economy, was consumed,
for we brought only a week's supply, and we had
now been absent ten days from home, and we
should have to fast all to-morrow, until we reached
the depot ; but as the horses were unable to carry
us, we were forced to remain.

During the day I had a long conversation with
Mr. Carmichael upon our affairs in general, and our
stock of provisions in particular ; the conclusion we
arrived at was, that having been nearly three months
out, we had not progressed so far in the time as we
had expected. We had found the country so dry
that until rains fell, it seemed scarcely probable that
we should be able to penetrate farther to the west,
and if we had to remain in depot for a month or
two, it was necessary by some means to economise
our stores, and the only way to do so was to dispense

io8 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

with the services of Alec Robinson. It would be
necessary, of course, in the first place, to find a creek
to the eastward, which would take him to the Finke,
and by the means of the same watercourse we
might eventually get round to the southern shores of
Lake Amadeus, and reach Mount Olga at last.

In our journey up the Finke two or three creeks
had joined from the west, and as we were now beyond
the sources of any of these, it would be necessary to
discover some road to one or the other before
Robinson could be parted with. By dispensing with
his services, as he was willing to go, we should
have sufficient provisions left to enable us to hold
out for seme months longer : even if we had to wait
so long as the usual rainy season in this part of the
country, which is about January and February, we
should still have several months' provisions to start
again with. In all these considerations Mr. Car-
michael fully agreed, and it was decided that J
should inform Alec of our resolution so soon as we
returned to the camp. After the usual nearly three
hours work to water our horses, we turned our
backs for the last time upon Glen Thirsty, where
we had so often returned with exhausted and
choking horses.

I must admit that I was getting anxious about
Robinson and the state of things at the camp. In
going through Worrill's Pass, we noticed that scarcely
a tree had escaped from being struck by the light-
ning ; branches and boughs lay scattered about, and
several pines from the summits of the ridges had
been blasted from their eminence. I was not very
much surprised, for I expected to be lightning-struck
myself, as I scarcely ever saw such lightning before.

A JO URNE Y EASTWARDS. 1 09

We got back to Robinson and the camp at 5 p.m.
My old horse that carried the pack had gone quite
lame, and this caused us to travel very slowly.
Robinson was alive and quite well, and the little
dog was overjoyed to greet us. Robinson reported
that natives had been frequently in the neighbour-
hood, and had lit fires close to the camp, but would
not show themselves. Marzetti's mare had foaled,
the progeny being a daughter ; the horse that was
staked was worse, and I found my old horse had
also ran a mulga stake into his coronet. I probed
the wounds of both, but could not get any wood out.
Carmichael and I both thought we would like a
day's rest ; and if I did not do much work, at least
I thought a good deal.

The lame horses are worse : the poisonous mulga
must be in the wounds, but I can't get it out. What
a pleasure it is, not only to have plenty of water to
drink, but actually to have sufficient for a bath ! I
told Robinson of my views regarding him, but said
he must yet remain until some eastern waters could
be found. On the 30th October, Mr. Carmichael
and I, with three fresh horses, started again. In
my travels southerly I had noticed a conspicuous
range of some elevation quite distinct from the
ridges at which our camp was fixed, and lying
nearly east, where an almost overhanging crag
formed its north-western face. This range I now
decided to visit. To get out of the ridges in which
our creek exists, we had to follow the trend of a
valley formed by what are sometimes called reap-
hook hills ; these ran about east-southeast. In a
few miles we crossed an insignificant little creek
with a few gum-trees ; it had a small pool of water

no AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

in its bed : the valley was well grassed and open,
and the triodia was also absent. A small pass
ushered us into a new valley, in which were several
peculiar conical hills. Passing over a saddle-like
pass, between two of them, we came to a flat, open
valley running all the way to the foot of the new range,
with a creek channel between. The range appeared
very red and rocky, being composed of enormous
masses of red sandstone ; the upper portion of it was
bare, with the exception of a few cypress pines,
moored in the rifled rock, and, I suppose, proof to the
tempest's shock. A fine-looking creek, lined with
gum-trees, issued from a gorge. We followed up
the channel, and Mr. Carmichael found a fine little
sheet of water in a stony hole, about 400 yards
long and forty yards wide. This had about four
feet of water in it ; the grass was green, and all
round the foot of the range the country was open,
beautifully grassed, green, and delightful to look at.
Having found so eligible a spot, we encamped :
how different from our former line of march ! We
strolled up through the rocky gorge, and found
several rock reservoirs with plenty of water ; some
palm-like Zamias were seen along the rocks. Down
the channel, about south-west, the creek passed
through a kind of low gorge about three miles away.
Smoke was seen there, and no doubt it was an en-
campment of the natives. Since the heavy though
dry thunderstorm at Glen Thirsty, the temperature
has been much cooler. I called this Kings Creek.
Another on the western flat beyond joins it. I
called the north-west point of this range Carmichaels
Crag. The range trended a little south of east, and
we decided to follow along its southern face, which

ROCK RESER VOIR. 1 1 1

was open, grassy, and beautifully green ; it was by
far the most agreeable and pleasant country we had
met.

At about five miles we crossed another creek
coming immediately out of the range, where it issued
from under a high and precipitous wall of rock, under-
neath which was a splendid deep and pellucid basin
of the purest water, which came rushing into and out

of it through fissures in the mountain : it then
formed a small swamp thickly set with reeds, which
covered an area of several acres, having plenty of
water among them. I called this Penny's Creek.
Half a mile beyond it was a similar one and reed bed,
but no such splendid rock reservoir. Farther along
the range other channels issued too, with fine rock
water-holes. At eighteen miles we reached a much

112 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

larger one than we had yet seen : I hoped this might
reach the Finke. We followed it into the range,
where it came down through a glen : here we found
three fine rock-holes with good supplies of water in
them. The glen and rock is all red sandstone : the
place reminded me somewhat of Captain Sturt's
Depot Glen in the Grey ranges of his Central
Australian Expedition, only the rock formation is
different, though a cliff overhangs both places, and
there are other points of resemblance. I named this
Stokes s Creek.

We rested here an hour and had a swim in one
of the rocky basins. How different to regions west-
ward, where we could not get enough water to drink,
let alone to swim in ! The water ran down through
the glen as far as the rock-holes, where it sank into
the ground. Thermometer 102° to-day. We con-
tinued along the range, having a fine stretch of
open grassy country to travel upon, and in five miles
reached another creek, whose reed beds and water
filled the whole glen. This I named Bagot s Creek.
For some miles no other creek issued, till, approach-
ing the eastern end of the range, we had a piece of
broken stony ground and some mulga for a few
miles, when we came to a sudden fall into a lower
valley, which was again open, grassy, and green.
We could then see that the range ended, but sent
out one more creek, which meandered dawn the
valley towards some other hills beyond ; this valley
was of a clayey soil, and the creek had some clay
holes with water in them. Following it three miles
farther, we found that it emptied itself into a much
larger stony mountain stream ; I named this Trickett's
Creek, after a friend of Mr. Carmichael's. The

GILLS RANGE. 113

range which had thrown out so many creeks, and
contained so much water, and which is over forty
miles in length, I named George Gills Range, after
my brother-in-law. The country round its foot is
by far the best I have seen in this region ; and could
it be transported to any civilised land, its springs,
glens, gorges, ferns, Zamias, and flowers, would
charm the eyes and hearts of toil-worn men who are
condemned to live and die in crowded towns.

The new creek now just discovered had a large
stony water-hole immediately above and below the
junction of Trickett's Creek, and as we approached
the lower one, I noticed several native wurleys just
deserted ; their owners having seen us while we
only thought of them, had fled at our approach,
and left all their valuables behind. These consisted
of clubs, spears, shields, drinking vessels, yam
sticks, with other and all the usual appliances of
well-furnished aboriginal gentlemen's establishments.
Three young native dog-puppies came out, however,
to welcome us, but when we dismounted and they
smelt us, not being used to such refined odours as
our garments probably exhaled, they fled howling.
The natives had left some food cooking, and when
I cooeyed they answered, but would not come near.
This creek was of some size ; it seemed to pass
through a valley in a new range further eastwards.
It came from the north-west, apparently draining
the northern side of Gills Range. I called it
Petermann s Creek. We were now sixty-five miles
from our depot, and had been most successful in
our efforts to find a route to allow of the departure
of Robinson, as it appeared that this creek would
surely reach the Finke, though we afterwards found

VOL. I. I

114 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

it did not. I intended upon returning here to
endeavour to discover a line of country round the
south-eastern extremity of Lake Amadeus, so as
to reach Mount Olga at last. We now turned our
horses' heads again for our home camp, and con-
tinued travelling until we reached Stokes's Creek,
where we encamped after a good long day's
march.

This morning, as we were approaching Penny's
Creek, we saw two natives looking most intently at our
outgoing horse tracks, along which they were slowly
walking, with their backs towards us. They neither
saw nor heard us until we were close upon their
heels. Each carried two enormously long spears,
two-thirds mulga wood and one-third reed at the
throwing end, of course having the instrument with
which they project these spears, called by some
tribes of natives only, but indiscriminately all over
the country by whites, a wommerah. It is in the
form of a flat ellipse, elongated to a sort of tail
at the holding end, and short-pointed at the pro-
jecting end ; a kangaroo's claw or wild dog s tooth
is firmly fixed by gum and gut-strings. The pro-
jectile force of this implement is enormous, and
these spears can be thrown with the greatest
precision for more than a hundred yards. They
also had narrow shields, three to four feet long,
to protect themselves from hostile spears, with a
handle cut out in the centre. These two natives had
their hair tied up in a kind of chignon at the back
of the head, the hair being dragged back off the
forehead from infancy. This mode gave them a wild
though somewhat effeminate appearance ; others,
again, wear their hair in long thick curls reach-

TIVO NAT/ FES, 115

ing down the shoulders, beautifully elaborated with
iguanas' or emus' fat and red ochre. This applies
only to the men ; the women's hair is worn either
cut. with flints or bitten off short. So soon as the two
natives heard, and then looking round saw us, they
scampered off like emus, running along as close to
the ground as it is possible for any two-legged
creature to do. One was quite a young fellow, the
other full grown. They ran up the side of the
hills, and kept travelling along parallel to us ; but
though we stopped and called, and signalled with
boughs, they would not come close, and the oftener
I tried to come near them on foot, the faster they
ran. They continued alongside us until King's
Creek was reached, where we rested the horses for
an hour. We soon became aware that a number
of natives were in our vicinity, our original two
yelling and shouting to inform the others of our
advent, and presently we saw a whole nation of
them coming from the glen or gorge to the south-
west, where I had noticed camp-fires on my first
arrival here. The new people were also shouting
and yelling in the most furious and demoniacal
manner ; and our former two, as though deputed
by the others, now approached us much nearer than
before, and came within twenty yards of us, but
holding their spears fixed in their wommerahs, in
such a position that they could use them instantly
if they desired. The slightest incident might have
induced them to spear us, but we appeared to be
at our ease, and endeavoured to parley with them.
The men were not handsome or fat, but were very
well made, and, as is the case with most of the natives
of these parts, were rather tall, viz. five feet eight

I 2

ii6 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

and nine inches. When they had come close
enough, the elder began to harangue us, and evi-
dently desired us to know that we were trespassers,
and were to be off forthwith, as he waved us away
in the direction we had come from. The whole
host then took up the signal, howled, yelled, and
waved their hands and weapons at us. Fortunately,
however, they did not actually attack us ; we were
not very well prepared for attack, as we had
only a revolver each, our guns and rifles being left
with Robinson. As our horses were frightened and
would not feed, we hurried our departure, when
we were saluted with rounds of cheers and blessings,
i.e. yells and curses in their charming dialect, until
we were fairly out of sight and hearing. On reach-
ing the camp, Alec reported that no natives had
been seen during our absence. On inspecting the
two lame horses, it appeared they were worse than
ever.

We had a very sudden dry thunderstorm, which
cooled the air. Next day I sent Alec and Carmichael
over to the first little five- mile creek eastwards with
the two lame horses, so that we can pick them up
en route to-morrow. They reported that the horses
could scarcely travel at all ; I thought if I could get
them to Penny's Creek I would leave them there.
This little depot camp was at length broken up,
after it had existed here from 15 th October to 5 th
November. I never expected, after being nearly
three months out, that I should be pushing to the
eastwards, when every hope and wish I had was
to go in exactly the opposite direction, and I could
only console myself with the thought that I was
going to the east to get to the west at last. I

NUMBERS OF AB ORIGINES. 1 1 7

have great hopes that if I can once set my foot upon
Mount Olga, my route to the west may be unim-
peded. I had not seen all the horses together for
some time, and when they were mustered this
morning, I found they had all greatly improved in
condition, and almost the fattest among them was
the little mare that had foaled at Mount Udor.
Marzetti's mare looked very well also.

It was past midday when we turned our backs
upon Tempes Vale. At the five-mile creek we
got the two lame horses, and reached King's Creek
somewhat late in the afternoon. As we neared it,
we saw several natives' smokes, and immediately
the whole region seemed alive with aborigines,
men, women, and children running down from the
highest points of the mountain to join the tribe
below, where they all congregated. The yelling,
howling, shrieking, and gesticulating they kept up
was, to say the least, annoying. When we began
to unpack the horses, they crowded closer round
us, carrying their knotted sticks, long spears, and
other fighting implements. I did not notice any
boomerangs among them, and I did not request
them to send for any. They were growing very
troublesome, and evidently meant mischief. I
rode towards a mob of them and cracked my whip,
which had no effect in dispersing them. They
made a sudden pause, and then gave a sudden
shout or howl. It seemed as if they knew, or had
heard something, of white men's ways, for when
I unstrapped my rifle, and holding it up, warning
them away, to my great astonishment they de-
parted ; they probably wanted to find out if we
possessed such things, and I trust they were satis-

ii8 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

fied, for they gave us up apparently as a bad
lot.

It appeared the exertion of travelling had im-
proved the go of the lame horses, so I took them
along with the others in the morning; I did not
like the idea of leaving them anywhere on this
range, as the natives would certainly spear, and
probably eat them. We got them along to Stokes's
Creek, and encamped at the swimming rock-hole.

After our frugal supper a circumstance occurred
which completely put an end to my expedition.
Mr. Carmichael informed me that he had made up
his mind not to continue in the field any longer,
for as Alec Robinson was going away, he should
do so too. Of course I could not control him ; he
was a volunteer, and had contributed towards the
expenses of the expedition. We had never fallen
out, and I thought he was as ardent in the cause
of exploration as I was, so that when he informed
me of his resolve it came upon me as a complete
surprise. My arguments were all in vain ; in vain
I showed how, with the stock of provisions we had,
we might keep the field for months. I even offered
to retreat to the Finke, so that we should not have
such arduous work for want of water, but it was all
useless.

It was with distress that I lay down on my
blankets that night, after what he had said. I
scarcely knew what to do. I had yet a lot of
horses heavily loaded with provisions ; but to take
them out into a waterless, desert country by myself,
was impossible. We only went a short distance — to
Bagot's Creek, where I renewed my arguments.
Mr. Carmichael's reply was, that he had made up

CARMICHA ELS RE SOL VE, 119

his mind and nothing should alter it ; the consequence
was that with one companion I had, so to speak,
discharged, and another who discharged himself,
any further exploration was out of the question. I
had no other object now in view but to hasten my
return to civilisation, in hopes of reorganising my
expedition. We were now in full retreat for the
telegraph line ; but as I still traversed a region
previously unexplored, I may as well continue my
narrative to the close. Marzetti's foal couldn't
travel, and had to be killed at Bagot's Creek.

On Friday, the 8th November, the party, now
silent, still moved under my directions. We tra-
velled over the same ground that Mr. Carmichael
and I had formerly done, until we reached the
Petermann in the Levi Range. The natives and
their pups had departed. The hills approached
this creek so close as to form a valley ; there were
several water-holes in the creek ; we followed its
course as far as the valley existed. When the
country opened, the creek spread out, and the water
ceased to appear in its bed. We kept moving all
day ; towards evening I saw some gum-trees under
some hills two or three miles southwards, and as
some smoke appeared above the hills, I knew that
natives must *have been there lately, and that water
might be got there. Accordingly, leaving Car-
michael and Robinson to go on with the horses, I
rode over, and found there was the channel of a
small creek, which narrowed. into a kind of glen the
farther I penetrated. The grass was burning on all
the hillsides, and as I went still farther up, I could
hear the voices of the natives, and I felt pretty sure
of finding water. I was, however, slightly anxious

I20 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

as to what reception I should get. I soon saw a
single native leisurely walking along in front of me
with a guana in his hand, taking it home for supper.
He carried several spears, a wommerah, and a
shield, and had long curled locks hanging down his
shoulders. My horse's nose nearly touched his
back before he was aware of my presence, when,
looking behind him, he gave a sudden start, held
up his two hands, dropped his guana and his spears,
uttered a tremendous yell as a warning to his tribe,
and bounded up the rocks in front of us like a
wallaby. I then passed under a eucalyptus-tree,
in whose foliage two ancient warriors had hastily
secreted themselves. I stopped a second and
looked up at them, they also looked at me ; they
presented a most ludicrous appearance. A little
farther on there were several rows* of wurleys, and
I could perceive the men urging the women and
children away, as they doubtless supposed many
more white men were in company with me, never
supposing I could possibly be alone. While the
women and children were departing up the rocks,
the men snatched up spears and other weapons, and
followed the women slowly towards the rocks. The
glen had here narrowed to a gorge, the rocks on
either side being not more than eighty to a hundred
feet high. It is no exaggeration to say that the
summits of the rocks on either side of the glen
were lined with natives ; they could almost touch
me with their spears. I did not feel quite at home
in this charming retreat, although I was the cynosure
of a myriad eyes. The natives stood upon the
edge of the rocks like statues, some pointing their
spears menacingly towards me, and I certainly

AN UNENVIABLE SITUATION 121

expected that some dozens would be thrown at me.
Both parties seemed paralysed by the appearance
of the other. I scarcely knew what to do ; I knew
if I turned to retreat that every spear would be
launched at me. I was, metaphorically, transfixed
to the spot. I thought the only thing to do was
to brave the situation out, as

" Cowards, 'tis said, in certain situations
Derive a sort of courage from despair ;
And then perform, from downright desperation,

Much bolder deeds than many a braver man would dare."

I was choking with thirst, though in vain I looked
for a sheet of water ; but seeing where they had
dug out some sand, I advanced to one or two
wells in which I could see water, but without a
shovel only a native could get any out of such a
funnel-shaped hole. In sheer desperation I dis-
mounted and picked up a small wooden utensil from
one of the wurleys, thinking if I could only get a
drink I should summon up pluck for the last despe-
rate plunge. I could only manage to get up a few
mouthfuls of dirty water, and my horse was trying
to get in on top of me. So far as I could see, there
were only two or three of these places where all
those natives got water. I remounted my horse,
one of the best and fastest I have. He knew
exactly what I wanted because he wished it also,
and that was to be gone. I mounted slowly with
my face to the enemy, but the instant I was on he
sprang round and was away with a bound that
almost left me behind ; then such demoniacal yells
greeted my ears as I had never heard before and do
not wish to hear again ; the echoes of the voices of
these now indignant and infuriated creatures rever-

122 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

berating through the defiles of the hills, and the
uncouth sounds of the voices themselves smote so
discordantly on my own and my horse's ears that
we went out of that glen faster, oh ! ever so much
faster, than we went in. I heard a horrid sound of
spears, sticks, and other weapons, striking violently
upon the ground behind me, but I did not stop to pick
up any of them, or even to look round to see what
caused it. Upon rejoining my companions, as we

now seldom spoke to one another, I merely told
them I had seen water and natives, but that it was
hardly worth while to go back to the place, but that
they could go if they liked. Robinson asked me
why I had ridden my horse West Australian —
shortened toW. A., but usually called Guts, from his
persistent attention to his " inwards " — so hard
when there seemed no likelihoods of our getting
any water for the night ? I said, " Ride him back

ESCAPE GLEN. 113

and see." I called this place Escape Glen. In
two or three miles after I overtook them, the Peter-
mann became exhausted on the plains. We pushed
on nearly east, as now we must strike the Finke in
forty-five to fifty miles ; but we had to camp that
night without water. The lame horses went better
the farther they were driven. I hoped to travel the
lameness out of them, as instances of that kind have
occurred with me more than once. We were away

—THE KITRXAT.

from our dry camp early, and had scarcely pro-
ceeded two miles when we struck the bank of a
broad sandy-bedded creek, which was almost as
broad as the Finke itself: just where we struck it
was on top of a red bank twenty or thirty feet high.
The horses naturally looking down into the bed
below, one steady old file of a horse, that carried my
boxes with the instruments, papers, quicksilver, &c.,
went too close, the bank crumbled under him, and

124 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

down he fell, raising a cloud of red dust. I rode
up immediately, expecting to see a fine smash, but
no, there he was, walking along on the sandy bed
below, as comfortable as he had been on top, not a
strap strained or a box shifted in the least The
bed here was dry. Robinson rode on ahead and
shortly found two fine large ponds under a hill
which ended abruptly over them. On our side a
few low ridges ran to meet it, thus forming a kind
of pass. Here we outspanned ; it was a splendid
place. Carmichael and Robinson caught a great
quantity of fish with hook and line. I called these
Middleton's Pass and Fish Ponds. The country all
round was open, grassy, and fit for stock. The
next day we got plenty more fish ; they were a
species of perch, the largest one caught weighed, I
dare say, three pounds ; they had a great resem-
blance to Murray cod, which is a species of perch.
I saw from the hill overhanging the water that the
creek trended south-east. Going in that direction
we did not, however, meet it ; so turning more
easterly, we sighted some pointed hills, and found
the creek went between them, forming another pass,
where there was another water-hole under the rocks.
This, no doubt, had been of large dimensions, but
was now gradually getting filled with sand ; there
was, however, a considerable quantity of water, and
it was literally alive with fish, insomuch that the
water had a disagreeable and fishy taste. Great
numbers of the dead fish were floating upon the
water. Here we met a considerable number of
natives, and although the women would not come
close, several of the men did, and made themselves
useful by holding some of the horses* bridles and

FRIENDLY NA TIVES. 1 2 5

getting firewood. Most of them had names given
them by their godfathers at their baptism, that is
to say, either by the officers or men of the Overland
Telegraph Construction parties. This was my thirty-
second camp ; I calle-d it Rogers's Pass ; twenty-two
miles was our day s stage. From here two con-
spicuous semi-conical hills, or as I should say,
truncated cones, of almost identical appearance,
caught my attention ; they bore nearly south 60°
east.

Bidding adieu to our sable friends, who had had
breakfast with us and again made themselves useful,
we started for the twins. To the south of them
was a range of some length ; of this the twins
formed a part. I called it Seymour s Range, and a
conic hill at its western end Mount Ormerod. We
passed the twins in eleven miles, and found some
water in the creek near a peculiar red sandstone
hill. Mount Quin ; the general course of the creek
was south 70° east. Seymour's Range, together
with Mounts Quin and Ormerod, had a series of
watermarks in horizontal lines along their face,
similar to Johnston's Range, seen when first starting,
the two ranges lying east and west of one another ;
the latter-named range we were again rapidly
approaching. Not far from Mount Quin I found
some clay water-holes in a lateral channel. The
creek now ran nearly east, and having taken my
latitude this morning by Aldeberan, I was sure of
what I anticipated, namely, that I was running
down the creek I had called No. 2. It was one
that joined the Finke at my outgoing No. 2 camp.
We found a water-hole to-day, fenced in by the
natives. There was a low range to the south-west.

126 AUSTRAL/A TWICE TRAVERSED.

and a tent-shaped hill more easterly. We rested
the horses at the fenced-in water-hole. I walked to
the top of the tent hill, and saw the creek went
through another pass to the north-east. In the
afternoon 1 rode over to this pass and found some
ponds of water on this side of it. A bullock whose
tracks I had seen further up the creek had got
bogged here. We next travelled throogh the pass,
which I called Briscoe's Pass, the creek now turn-
ing up nearly north-east ; in six miles further it ran

under a hill, which I well remembered in going out ;
at thirteen miles from the camp it ended in the
broader bosom of the Finke, where there was a fine
water-hole at the junction, in the bed of the smaller
creek, which was called the Palmer. The Finke
now appeared very different to when we passed up.
It then had a stream of water running along its
channel, but was now almost dry, except that water
appeared at intervals upon the surface of the white
and sandy bed, which, however, was generally

EXPEDITION ENDED. 1 2 7

either salty or bitter ; others, again, were drinkable
enough. Upon reaching the river we camped.

My expedition was over. I had failed certainly
in my object, which was to penetrate to the sources
of the Murchison River, but not through any fault
of mine, as I think any impartial reader will admit.
Our outgoing tracks were very indistinct, but yet
recognisable; we camped again at No. i. Our
next line was nearly east, along the course of the
Finke, passing a few miles south of Chambers's
Pillar. I had left it but twelve weeks and four
days; during that interval I had traversed and
laid down over a thousand miles of previously
totally unknown country. Had I been fortunate
enough to have fallen upon a good or even a fair
line of country, the distance I actually travelled
would have taken me across the continent.

I may here make a few remarks upon the Finke.
It is usually called a river, although its water does
not always show upon the surface. Overlanders,
i.e. parties travelling up or down the road along the
South Australian Trans-Continental Telegraph line,
where the water does show on the surface, call them
springs. The water is always running underneath
the sand, but in certain places it becomes impreg-
nated with mineral and salty formations, which gives
the water a disagreeable taste. This peculiar drain
no doubt rises in the western portions of the
McDonnell Range, not far from where I traced
it to, and runs for over 500 miles straight in a
general south-westerly direction, finally entering the
northern end of Lake Eyre. It drains an enormous
area of Central South Australia, and on the parallels
of 24°, 25°, 26*^ of south latitude, no other stream

128 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

exists between it and the Murchison or the Asbur-
ton, a distance in either case of nearly i,ioo miles,
and thus it will be seen it is the only Central
Australian river.

On the 2 1 St of November we reached the tele-
graph line at the junction of the Finke and the
Hugh. The weather during this month, and almost
to its close, was much cooler than the preceding one.
The horses were divided between us — Robinson
getting six, Carmichael four, and I five. Carmichael
and Robinson went down the country, in company,
in advance of me, as fast as they could. I travelled
more slowly by myself. One night, when near what
is called the Horse-shoe bend of the Finke, I had
turned out my horses, and as it seemed inclined to
rain, was erecting a small tent, and on looking round
for the tomahawk to drive a stake into the ground,
was surprised to notice a very handsome little black
boy, about nine or ten years old, quite close to me.
I patted him on the head, whereupon he smiled
very sweetly, and began to talk most fluently in his
own language. I found he interspersed his remarks
frequently with the words Larapinta, white fellow,
and yarraman (horses). He told me two white
men, Carmichael and Robinson, and ten horses, had
gone down, and that white fellows, with horses and
camel drays (Gosse s expedition), had just gone up
the line. While we were talking, two smaller boys
came up and were patted, and patted me in return.
The water on the surface here was bitter, and I
had not been able to find any good, but these little
imps of iniquity took my tin billy, scratched a hole
in the sand, and immediately procured delicious
water ; so I got them to help to water the horses.

A BLA CK FA MIL Y. 129

I asked the elder boy, whom I christened Tommy,
if he would come along with me and the yarramans ;
of these they seemed very fond, as they began
kissing while helping to water them. Tommy
then found a word or two of English, and said, ** You
master ? " The natives always like to know who
they are dealing with, whether a person is a master
or a servant. I replied, '^Yes, mine master.'
He then said, " Mine (him) ridem yarraman.'
" Oh, yes." " Which one ? " ** That one," said I
pointing to old Cocky, and said, ** That's Cocky.'
Then the boy went up to the horse, and said
** Cocky, you ridem me ? " Turning to me, he
said, ** All right, master, you and me Burr-r-r-r-r.'
I was very well pleased to think I should get such
a nice little fellow so easily. It was now near
evening, and knowing that these youngsters couldn't
possibly be very far from their fathers or mothers,
I asked, "Where black fellow?" Tommy said,
quite nonchalantly, " Black fellow come up ! " and
presently I heard voices, and saw a whole host of
men, women, and children. Then these three boys
set up a long squeaky harangue to the others, and
three or four men and five or six boys came running
up to me. One was a middle-aged, good-looking
man ; with him were two boys, and Tommy gave
me to understand that these were his father and
brothers. The father drew Tommy towards him,
and ranged his three boys in a row, and when I
looked at them, it was impossible to doubt their
relationship — they were all three so wonderfully
alike. Dozens more men, boys, and women came
round — some of the girls being exceedingly pretty.
To feed so large a host, would have required all my
VOL. I. k:

I30 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

horses as well as my stock of rations, so I singled
out Tommy, his two brothers, and the other original
little two, at the same time, giving Tommy's
father about half a damper I had already cooked,
and told him that Tommy was my boy. He shook
his head slowly, and would not accept the damper,
walking somewhat sorrowfully away. However, I
sent it to him by Tommy, and told him to tell his
father he was going with me and the horses. The
damper was taken that time. It did not rain, and
the five youngsters all slept near me, while the tribe
encamped a hundred yards away. I was not quite
sure whether to expect an attack from such a
number of natives. I did not teel quite at ease ;
though these were, so to say, civilised people, they
were known to be great thieves ; and I never went
out of sight of my belongings, as in many cases the
more civilised they are, the more villainous they
may be. In the morning Tommy's father seemed
to have thought better of my proposal, thinking
probably it was a good thing for one of his boys to
have a white master. I may say nearly all the
civilised youngsters, and a good many old ones too,
like to get work, regular rations, and tobacco, from
the cattle or telegraph stations, which of course do
employ a good many. When one of these is tired
of his work, he has to bring up a substitute and
inform his employer, and thus a continual change
goes on. The boys brought up the horses, and
breakfast being eaten, the father led Tommy up to
me and put his little hand in mine ; at the same
time giving me a small piece of stick, and pre-
tending to thrash him ; represented to me that, if
he didn't behave himself, I was to thrash him. I

A BROKEN ARM. 131

gave the old fellow some old clothes (Tommy I had
already dressed up), also some flour, tea, and sugar,
and lifted the child on to old Cocky's saddle, which
had a valise in front, with two straps for the monkey
to cling on by. A dozen or two youngsters now
also wanted to come on foot. I pretended to be
very angry, and Tommy must have said something
that induced them to remain. I led the horse the
boy was riding, and had to drive the other three in
front of me. When we departed, the natives gave
us some howls o^ cheers, and finally we got out of
their reach. The boy seemed quite delighted with
his new situation, and talked away at a gre^t rate.
As soon as we reached the road, by some extra-
ordinary chance, all my stock of wax matches,
carried by Badger, caught alight ; a perfect volcano
ensued, and the novel sight of a pack-horse on fire
occurred. This sent him mad, and away he and
the two other pack-horses flew down the road, over
the sandhills, and were out of sight in no time.
I told the boy to cling on as I started to gallop
after them. He did so for a bit, but slipping on
one side. Cocky gave a buck, and sent Tommy
flying into some stumps of timber cut down for the
passage of the telegraph line, and the boy fell on a
stump and broke his arm near the shoulder. I
tied my horse up and went to help the child, who
screamed and bit at me, and said something about
his people killing me. Every time I tried to touch
or pacify him it was the same. I did not know
what to do, the horses were miles away. I decided
to leave the boy where he was, go after the horses,
and then return with them to my last night's camp,
and give the boy back to his father. When he saw

K 2

132 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

me mount, he howled and yelled, but I gave him
to understand what I was going to do, and he lay
down and cried. I was full of pity for the poor
little creature, and I only left him to return. I
started away, and not until I had been at full gallop
for an hour did I sight the runaway horses. Cocky
got away when the accident occurred, and galloped
after and found the others, and his advent evidently
set them off a second time. Returning to the boy,
I saw some smoke, and on approaching close, found
a young black fellow also there. He had bound
up the child's arm with leaves, and wrapped it up
with bits of bark ; and when I came he damped it
with water from my bag. I then suggested to
these two to return ; but oh no, the new chap was
evidently bound to seek his fortune in London — that
is to say, at the Charlotte Waters Station — and he
merely remarked, ** You, mine, boy, Burr-r-r-r-r, white
fellow wurley ; *' he also said, ** Mine, boy, walk,
you, yarraman — mine, boy, sleep you wurley, you
Burr-r-r-r-r yarraman." All this meant that they
would walk and I might ride, and that they would
camp with me at night. Off I went and left them, as
I had a good way to go. I rode and they walked to
the Charlotte. I got the little boy regular meals at
the station ; but his arm was still bad, and I don't
know if it ever got right. I never saw him again.

At the Charlotte Waters I met Colonel Warburton
and his son ; they were going into the regions I had
just returned from. I gave them all the information
they asked, and showed them my map ; but they
and Gosse's expedition went further up the line
to the Alice springs, in the McDonnell Ranges, for
a s»:arting-point. I was very kindly received here

THE CHARLOTTE. 133

again, and remained a few days. My old horse
Cocky had got bad again, in consequence of his
galloping with the pack-horses, and I left him behind
me at the Charlotte, in charge of Mr. Johnston.
On arrival at the Peake, I found that Mr. Bagot
had broken his collar-bone by a fall from a horse.
I drove him to the Blinman Mine, where we took
the coach for Adelaide. At Beltana, before we
reached the Blinman Mine, I heard that my former
black boy Dick was in that neighbourhood, and
Mr. Chandler, whom I had met at the Charlotte
Waters, and who was now stationed here, promised
to get and keep him for me until I either came or
sent for him : this he did. And thus ends the first
book of my explorations.

BOOK II.

( 137 )

NOTE TO THE SECOND EXPEDITION.

In a former part of my narrative I mentioned,
that so soon as I had informed my kind friend
Baron von Mueller by wire from the Charlotte
Waters Telegraph Station, of the failure and break
up of my expedition, he set to work and obtained
a new fund for me to continue my labours.
Although the greatest despatch was used, and the
money quickly obtained, yet it required some
months before I could again depart. I reached
Adelaide late in January, 1873, and as soon as
funds were available I set to work at the organisa-
tion of a new expedition. I obtained the services
of a young friend named William Henry Tietkins
— who came over from Melbourne to join me — and
we got a young fellow named James Andrews, or
Jimmy as we always called him. I bought a light
four-wheeled trap and several horses, and we left
Adelaide early in March, 1873. We drove up the
country by way of the Burra mines to Port Augusta
at the head of Spencer s Gulf, buying horses as we
went ; and having some pack saddles on the wagon,
these we put on our new purchases as we got
them.

Before I left Adelaide I had instructed Messrs.

138 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

Tassie & Co., of Port Augusta, to forward certain
stores required for our journey, which loading had
already been despatched by teams to the Peake.
We made a leisurely journey up the country, as it
was of no use to overtake our stores. At Beltana
Mr. Chandler had got and kept my black boy Dick,
who pretended to be overjoyed to see me, and
perhaps he really was ; but he was extra effusive in
his affection, and now declared he had been a silly
young fool, that he didn't care for wild blacks now a
bit, and would go with me anywhere. When Mr.
Chandler got him he was half starved, living in a
blacks' camp, and had scarcely any clothes. Leav-
ing Beltana, in a few days we passed the Finniss
Springs Station, and one of the people there made
all sorts of overtures to Dick, who was now dressed
in good clothes, and having had some good living
lately, had got into pretty good condition ; some
promises must have been made him, as when we
reached the Gregory, he bolted away, and I never
saw him afterwards.

The Gregory was now running, and by simply
dipping out a bucketful of water, several dozens of
minnows could be caught. In this way we got
plenty of them, and frying them in butter, just as
they were, they proved the most delicious food it
was possible to eat, equal, if not superior, to white-
bait. Nothing of a very interesting nature occurred
during our journey up to the Peake, where we were
welcomed by the Messrs. Bagot at the Cattle Station,
and Mr. Blood of the Telegraph Department.
Here we fixed up all our packs, sold Mr. Bagot the
wagon, and bought horses and other things ; we
had now twenty pack-horses and four riding ditto.

ALF GIBSON. 139

Here a short young man accosted me, and asked
me if I did not remember him, saying at the same
time that he was ** Alf." I fancied I knew his face,
but thought it was at the Peake that I had seen
him, but he said, " Oh no, don't you remember Alf
with Bagot s sheep at the north-west bend of the
Murray ? my name's Alf Gibson, and I want to go
out with you." I said, " Well, can you shoe ? can
you ride ? can you starve ? can you go without
water ? and how would you like to be speared by the
blacks outside V* He said he could do everything I
had mentioned, and he wasn't afraid of the blacks.
He was not a man I would have picked out of a
mob, but men were scarce, and as he seemed so
anxious to come, and as I wanted somebody, I
agreed to take him. We got all our horses shod,
and two extra sets of shoes fitted for each, marked,
and packed away. I had a little black-and-tan terrier
dog called Cocky, and Gibson had a little pup of
the same breed, which he was so anxious to take
that at last I permitted him to do so.

Our horses' loads were very heavy at starting,
the greater number of the horses carrying 200 lbs.
The animals were not in very good condition ; I got
the horse I had formerly left here, Badger, the one
whose pack had been on fire at the end of my last
trip. I had decided to make a start upon this
expedition from a place known as Ross's Water-hole
in the Alberga Creek, at its junction with the
Stevenson, the Alberga being one of the principal
tributaries of the Finke. The position of Ross's
Water-hole is in latitude 27° 8' and longitude
135° 45', it lying 120 to 130 miles in latitude more
to the south than the Mount Olga of my first

I40 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

journey, which was a point I was most desirous to
reach. Having tried without success to reach it
from the north, I now intended to try from a more
southerly line. Ross's Water-hple is called ninety
miles from the Peake, and we arrived there without
any difficulty. The nights now were exceedingly
cold, as it was near the end of July. When we
arrived I left the others in camp and rode myself
to the Charlotte Waters, expecting to get my old
horse Cocky, and load him with 200 lbs. of flour ;
but when I arrived there, the creek water-hole was
dry, and all the horses running loose on the Finke.
I got two black boys to go out and try to get the
horse, but on foot in the first place they could never
have done it, and in the second place, when they
returned, they said they could not find him at all. 1
sent others, but to no purpose, and eventually had to
leave the place without getting him, and returned
empty-handed to the depot, having had my journey
and lost my time for nothing.

There was but poor feed at the water-hole, every
teamster and traveller always camping there.
Some few natives appeared at the camp, and
brought some boys and girls. An old man said he
could get me a flour-bag full of salt up the creek,
so I despatched him for it ; he brought back a little
bit of dirty salty gravel in one hand, and expected a
lot of flour, tea, sugar, meat, tobacco, and clothes
for it ; but I considered my future probable require-
ments, and refrained from too much generosity. A
nice little boy called Albert agreed to come with us,
but the old man would not allow him — I suppose on
account of the poor reward he got for his salt. A
young black fellow here said he had found a

A WHITE MAN'S MUSKET, 141

white man's musket a long way up the creek, and
that he had got it in his wurley, and would give
it to me for flour, tea, sugar, tobacco, matches, and
clothes. I only premised flour, and away he went
to get the weapon. Next day he returned, and
before reaching the camp began to yell, ** White
fellow mukkety, white fellow mukkety." I could see
he had no such thing in his hands, but when he
arrived he unfolded a piece of dirty old pocket-
handkerchief, from which he produced — what ? an
old discharged copper revolver cartridge. His
reward was commensurate with his prize.

The expedition consisted of four members —
namely, myself, Mr. William Henry Tietkins, Alfred
Gibson, and James Andrews, with twenty-four
horses and two little dogs. On Friday, the ist of
August, 1873, we were prepared to start, but rain
stopped us ; again on Sunday some more fell. We
finally left the encampment on the morning of
Monday, the 4th.

/BOSS'S WATER'HOLE. 143

CHAPTER I.

FROM THE 4TH TO THE 2 2ND AUGUST, 1 873.

I^ave for the west — Ascend the Alberga — An old building —
Rain, thunder, and lightning — Leave Alberga for the north-
west — Drenched in the night — Two lords of the soil — Get
their cong^ — Water-holes — Pretty amphitheatre — Scrubs on
either side — Watering the horses — A row of saplings —
Spinifex and poplars — Dig a tank — Hot wind — A broken
limb — Higher hills — Flat-topped hills — Singular cones —
Better country — A horse staked — Bluff-faced hills — The
Anthony Range — Cool nights — Tent-shaped hills — Fantastic
mounds — Romantic valley — Picturesque scene — A gum
creek — Beautiful country — Gusts of fragrance — New and
independent hills — Large creek — Native well — Jimmy's
report — The Krichauff — Cold nights — Shooting blacks —
Labor omnia vincit — Thermometer 28° — Dense scrubs —
Small creek — Native pheasant's nest — Beautiful open ground
— Charming view — Rocks piled on rocks.

On Monday, the 4th August, 1873, my new expe-
dition, under very favourable circumstances, started
from Ross's Water-hole in the Alberga. The
country through which the Alberga here runs is
mostly open and stony, but good country for stock
of all kinds. The road and the telegraph line are
here thirteen miles apart. At that distance up the
creek, nearly west, we reached it. The frame of an
old building was convenient for turning into a house,
with a tarpaulin for a roof, as there appeared a like-

144 AUSTIN ALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

lihoods of more rain. Some water was got in a
clay-pan in the neighbourhood.

A misty and cloudy morning warned us to keep
under canvas : rain fell at intervals during the day,
and at sundown heavy thunder and bright lightning
came from the north-west, with a closing good
smart shower. The next morning was fine and
clear, though the night had been extremely cold.
The bed of this creek proved broad but ill-defined,
and cut up into numerous channels. Farther along
the creek a more scrubby region was found ; the
soil was soft after the rain, but no water was seen
lying about. The creek seemed to be getting
smaller ; I did not like its appearance very much,
so struck away north-west. The country now was
all thick mulga scrub and grassy sandhills ; amongst
these we found a clay-pan with some water in it.
At night we were still in the scrub, without water,
but we were not destined to leave it without any,
for at ten o'clock a thunderstorm from the north-
west came up, and before we could get half our
things under canvas, we were thoroughly drenched.
Off our tarpaulins we obtained plenty of water for
breakfast ; but the ground would not retain any.
Sixteen miles farther along we came down out of
the sandhills on to a creek where we found water,
and camped, but the grass was very poor, dry, and
innutritions. More rain threatened, but the night
was dry, and the morning clear and beautiful. This
creek was the Hamilton. Two of its native lords
visited the camp this morning, and did not appear at
all inclined to leave it. The creek is here broad
and sandy : the timber is small and stunted. To-
wards evening the two Hamiltonians put on airs of

A PRETTY AMPHITHEATRE. 145

great impudence, and became very objectionable ;
two or three times I had to resist their encroach-
ments into the camp, and at last they greatly
annoyed me. I couldn't quite make out what they
said to one another ; but I gathered they expected
more of their tribe, and were anxiously looking out
for them in all directions. Finally, as our guns
wanted discharging and cleaning after the late
showers, we fired them off, and so soon as the
natives saw us first handle and then discharge them,
off they went, and returned to Balclutha no more.

Going farther up the creek, we met some small
tributaries with fine little water-holes. Some ridges
now approached the creek ; from the top of one
many sheets of water glittered in stony clay-pans.
More westerly the creek ran under a hill. Crossing
another tributary where there was plenty of water,
we next saw a large clay-hole in the main creek —
it was, however, dry. When there was some water
in it, the natives had fenced it found to catch any
large game that might come to drink ; at present
they were saved the trouble, for game and water
had both alike departed. Mr. Tietkens, my lieu-
tenant and second in command, found a very pretty
amphitheatre formed by the hills ; we encamped
there, at some clay-pans ; the gras^, however, was
very poor ; scrubs appeared on the other side of the
creek. A junction with another creek occurred near
here, beyond which the channel was broad, flat,
sandy, and covered indiscriminately with timber ;
scrubs existed on either bank. We had to cross
and recross the bed as the best road. We found a
place in it where the natives had dug, and where
we got water, but the supply was very unsatis-

VOL. I. L

146 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

factory, an enormous quantity of sand having to be
shifted before the most willing horse could get down
to it. We succeeded at length wirh the aid of
canvas buckets, and by the time the whole twenty-
four were satisfied, we were also. The grass was
dry as usual, but the horses ate it, probably because
there is no other for them. Our course to-day was
8° south of west. Close to where we encamped
were three or four saplings placed in a row in the
bed of the creek, and a diminutive tent-frame, as
though some one, if not done by native children,
had been playing at erecting a miniature telegraph
line. I did not like this creek much more than the
Alberga, and decided to try the country still farther
north-west. This we did, passing through some-
what thick scrubs for eighteen miles, when we came
full upon the creek again, and here for the first time
since we started we noticed some bunches of
spinifex, the Festuca irritans, and some native poplar
trees. These have a straight stem, and are in out-
line somewhat like a pine-tree, but the foliage is of
a fainter green, and different-shaped leaf. They
are very pretty to the eye, but generally inhabit the
very poorest regions ; the botanical name of this
tree is Codonocarpus cotinifolius. At five miles
farther we dug in the bed of the creek, but only our
riding-horses could be watered by night. White
pipeclay existed on the bed. The weather was
oppressive to-day. Here my latitude was 26° 27',
longitude 134°. It took all next day to water
the horses. Thermometer 92° in shade, hot wind
blowing. The dead limb of a tree, to which we
fixed our tarpaulin as an awning for shade, slipped
down while we were at dinner ; it first fell on the

A DEAD LIMB.

head of Jimmy Andrews, which broke it in half;
it also fell across my back, tearing my waistcoat,
shirt, and skin ; but as it only fell on Jimmy's
head, of course it couldn't hurt him. The countrj'

still scrubby on both sides : we now travelled about
norlh-north-west, and reached a low stony rise in
the scrubs, and from it saw the creek stretching
away towards some other ridges nearly on the line
we were travelling. We skirted the creek, and in

L 2

148 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

eleven miles we saw other hills of greater elevation
than any we had yet seen.

Reaching the first ridge, we got water by digging
a few inches into the pipeclay bed of the creek ; a
more extended view was here obtained, and ranges
appeared from west, round by north-west, to north ;
there were many flat-topped hills and several singu-
lar cones, and the country appeared more open.
I was much pleased to think I had distanced the
scrubs. One cone in the new range bore north
52^ west, and for some distance the creek trended
that way. On reaching the foot of the new hills, I
found the creek had greatly altered its appearance,
if indeed it was the same. It is possible the main
creek may have turned more to the west, and that
this is only a tributary, but as we found some sur-
face water in a clay-hole, we liked it better than
having to dig in a larger channel. Here for the first
time for many weeks we came upon some green
grass, which the horses greedily devoured. The
country here is much better and more open. On
mustering the horses this morning, one was found
to be dead lame, with a mulga stake in his coronet,
and as he could not travel we were forced to remain
at the camp ; at least the camp was not shifted. This
horse was called Trew ; he was one of the best in
the mob, though then I had not found out all his
good qualities — he now simply carried a pack.
Mr. Tietkens and I mounted our horses and rode
farther up the creek. The channel had partly
recovered its appearance, and it may be our old one
after all. Above the camp its course was nearly
north, and a line of low bluff-faced hills formed its
eastern bank. The country towards the new ranges

THE ANTHONY RANGE. 149

looked open and inviting, and we rode to a promi-
nent cone in it, to the west-north-west. The country
was excellent, being open and grassy, and having
fine cotton and salt bush flats all over it : there was
surface water in clay-pans lying about. I called
this the Anthony Range. We returned much pleased
with our day s ride.

The nights were now agreeably cool, sometimes
very dewy. The lame horse was still very bad, but
we lightened his load, and after the first mile he
travelled pretty well. We steered for the singular
cone in advance* Most of the hills, however, of the
Anthony Range were flat-topped, though many tent-
shaped ones exist also. I ascended the cone in
ten miles, -west of north-west from camp. The view
displayed hills for miles in all directions, amongst
which were many bare rocks of red colour heaped
into the most fantastically tossed mounds imagin-
able, with here and there an odd shrub growing
from the interstices of the rocks ; some small minia-
ture creeks, with only myal and mulga growing in
them, ran through the valleys — all of these had
recently been running. We camped a mile or two
beyond the cone in an extremely pretty and
romantic valley ; the grass was green, and Nature
appeared in one of her smiling moods, throwing a
gleam of sunshine on the minds of the adventurers
who had sought her in one of her wilderness
recesses. The only miserable creature in our party
was the lame horse, but now indeed he had a mate
in misfortune, for we found that another horse.
Giant Despair, had staked himself during our day s
march, though he did not appear lame until we
stopped, and his hobbles were about to be put on.

I50 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

Mr. Tietkens extracted a long mulga slick from his
fetlock : neither of the two staked horses ever
became sound again, although they worked well
enough. In the night, or rather by morning (day-
light), the thermometer had fallen to 30°, and though
there was a heavy dew there was neither frost
nor ice.

We now passed up to the head of the picturesque
valley, and from there wound round some of the
mounds of bare rocks previously mentioned. They
are composed of a kind of a red conglomerate
granite. We turned in and out amongst the hills
till we arrived at the banks oi a small creek lined
with eucalyptus or gum-trees, and finding some
water we encamped on a piece of beautiful-looking
country, splendidly grassed and ornamented with
the fantastic mounds, and the creek timber as back
and fore grounds for the picture. Small birds
twittered on each bough, sang their little songs of
love or hate, and gleefully fled or pursued each
other from tree to tree. The atmosphere seemed
cleared of all grossness or impurities, a few sunlit
clouds floated in space, and a perfume from Nature s
own laboratory was exhaled from the flowers and
vegetation around. It might well be said that here
were

** Gusts of fragrance on the grasses.
In the skies a softened splendour;
Through the copse and woodland passes
Songs of birds in cadence tender."

The country was so agreeable here we had no
desire to traverse it at railway speed ; it was de-
lightful to loll and lie upon the land, in abandoned
languishment beneath the solar ray. Thirty or forty

JIMMY CLIMBS A TREE. 151

miles farther away, west-north-westward, other and
independent hills or ranges stood, though I was
grieved to remark that the intermediate region
seemed entirely filled with scrub. How soon the
scenery changes ! Travelling now for the new hills,
we soon entered scrubs, where some plots of the
dreaded triodia were avoided. In the scrubs, at ten
miles we came upon the banks of a large gum-tim-
bered creek, whose trees were fine and vigorous.
In the bed we found a native well, with water at no
great depth ; the course of this creek where we
struck it, was south-south-east, and we travelled along
its banks in an opposite, that is to say, north-north-
west direction. That line, however, took us imme-
diately into the thick scrubs, so at four miles on this
bearing I climbed a tree, and saw that I must turn
north to cut it again ; this I did, and in three miles
we came at right angles upon a creek which I felt
sure was not the one we had left, the scrub being
so thick one could hardly see a yard ahead. Here
I sent Jimmy Andrews up a tree ; having been a
sailor boy, he is well skilled in that kind of per-
formance, but I ajn not. I told him to discover the
whereabouts of the main creek, and say how far off
it appeared. That brilliant genius informed me that
it lay across the course we were steering, north, and
it was only a mile away ; so we went on to it, as we
supposed, but having gone more than two miles and
not reaching it, I asked Jimmy whether he had
not made some mistake. I said, ** We have
already come two miles, and you said it was scarcely
one." He then kindly informed me that I was
going all wrong, and ought not to go that way at
all ; but upon my questioning him as to which way

152 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

I should go he replied, " Oh, I don't know now'*
My only plan was to turn east, when we soon struck
the creek. Then Jimmy declared if we had kept
north long enough^ we would have come to it agin.

Though Jimmy was certainly a bit of a fool, he
was not perhaps quite a fool of the greatest size.
Little fools and young fools somehow seem to pass
muster in this peculiar world, but to be old and a
fool is a mistake which is difficult, if not impossible,
to remedy. It was too late to go any farther ; we
couldn't get any water, but we had to camp. I
intended to return in the morning to where we first
struck this creek, and where we saw water in the
native well. I called this the Krichauff. The
mercury went down to 28° by daylight the next
morning, but neither ice nor frost appeared. This
morning Mr.- Tietkens, when out after the horses,
found a rather deep native well some distance up
the creek, and we shifted the camp to it. On the
way there I was behind the party, and before I
overtook them I heard the report of firearms. On
reaching the horses, Jimmy Andrews had his re-
volver in his hand, Mr. Tietkens and Gibson being
away. On inquiring of Jimmy the cause of the
reports and the reason of his having his revolver in
his hand, he replied that he thought Mr. Tietkens
was shooting the blacks, and he had determined to
slaughter his share if they attacked him. Mr. Tiet-
kens had fired at some wallabies, which, however,, did
not appear at dinner. On arrival at the new well,
we had a vast amount of work to perform, and only
three or four horses got water by night.

I told Mr. Tietkens not to work himself to death,
as I would retreat in the morning to where there

THE LETPOA OCELLATA. 153

was water, but he persisted in working away by
himself in the night, and was actually able to water
all the horses in the morning. Labor omnia vincit.
Last night there was a heavy fall of dew, thermo-
meter 28°, but no frost or ice. I was delighted to
turn my back upon this wretched place.

The object of our present line was to reach
the new hills seen from the Anthony Range.
Three of them appeared higher than, and isolated
from, the others. They now bore west of us — at
least they should have done so, and I hoped they
did, for in such thick scrubs it was quite impossible
to see them. No matter for that, we steered west
for them and traversed a region of dense scrubs. I
was compelled to ride in advance with a bell on
my stirrup to enable the others to hear which way
to come. In seventeen miles we struck a small
g^m creek without water, but there was good
herbage. In the scrubs to-day we saw a native
pheasant's nest, the Leipoa ocellata of Gould, but
there were no eggs in it. This bird is known by
different names in different parts of Australia. On
the eastern half of the continent it is usually called
the Lowan, while in Western Australia it is known
as the Gnow ; both I believe are native names.
Another cold night, thermometer 26^ with a
slight hoar frost. Moving on still west through
scrubs, but not so thick as yesterday, some beautiful
and open ground was met till we reached the foot
of some low ridges.

From the top of one of these, we had before us
a most charming view, red ridges of extraordinary
shapes and appearance being tossed up in all
directions, with the slopes of the soil, from whence

154 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

they seemed to spring, rising gently, and with
verdure clad in a garment of grass whose skirts
were fringed with flowers to their feet. These
slopes were beautifully bedecked with flowers of
the most varied hues, throwing a magic charm
over the entire scene. Vast bare red

" Rocks piled on rocks stupendous hurled,
Like fragments of an earlier world,"

appeared everywhere, but the main tier of ranges
for which I had been steering was still several
miles farther away to the west. Thinking that
water, the scarcest here of Nature's gifts, must surely
exist in such a lovely region as this, it was more
with the keen and critical eye of the explorer in
search of that element, than of the admirer of
Nature in her wildest grace, that I surveyed the
scene. A small gum creek lay to the south, to
which Mr. Tietkens went. I sent Gibson to a spot
about two miles off to the west, as straight before
us in that direction lay a huge mass of rocks and
bare slabs of stone, which might have rock
reservoirs amongst them. To the north lay a
longer jumble of hills, with overhanging ledges
and bare precipices, which I undertook to search,
leaving Jimmy to mind the horses until some of us
returned. Neither Mr. Tietkens nor Gibson could
find any water, and I was returning quite dis-
appointed, after wandering over hills and rocks,
through gullies and under ledges, when at length
I espied a small and very fertile little glen whose
brighter green attracted my notice. Here a small
gully came down between two hills, and in the
bed of the little channel I saw a patch of blacker

A FUNNEL-SHAPED WELL. 155

soil, and on reaching it I found a small but deep
native well with a little water at the bottom. It
was an extraordinary little spot, and being funnel-
shaped, I doubted whether any animal but a bird
or a black man could get down to it, and I also
expected it would prove a hideous bog; but my
little friend (W. A.) seemed so determined to test its
nature, and though it was nearly four feet to the
water, he quietly let his forefeet slip down into
it, and though his hindquarters were high and
dry above his head he got a good drink, which
he told me in his language he was very thankful
for. I brought the whole party to the spot, and we
had immediately to set to work to enlarge the well.
We found the water supply by no means abundant,
as, though we all worked hard at it in turns with
the shovel, it did not drain in as fast as one horse
could drink ; but by making a large hole, we
expected sufficient would drain in during the night
for the remainder of the horses. We did not cease
from our work until it was quite dark, when we
retired to our encampment, quite sufficiently tired
to make us sleep without the aid of any lullaby.

iS6 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

CHAPTER II,

FROM 2 2ND AUGUST TO lOTH SEPTEMBER, 1 873.

A poor water supply — Seeds planted — Beautiful country — Ride
westward — A chopped log — Magnetic hill — Singular scenery
— Snail-shells — Cheering prospect westward — A new chain
of hills — A nearer mountain — Vistas of green — Gibson finds
water — ^Turtle backs — Ornamented Troglodytes* caves —
Water and emus — Beef-wood-trees — Grassy lawns — Gum
creek — Purple vetch — Cold dewy night — Jumbled turtle
backs — Tietkens returns — I proceed — Two-storied native
huts — Chinese doctrine — A wonderful mountain — Elegant
trees — Extraordinary ridge — A garden — Nature imitates her
imitator — Wild and strange view — Pool of water — A lonely
camp — Between sleeping and waking — Extract from Byron
for breakfast — Return for the party — Emus and water —
Arrival of Tietkens — A good camp — Tietkens's birthday
creek — Ascend the mountain — No signs of water — Gill's
range —Flat-topped hill — The Everard range — High mounts
westward — Snail shells — Altitude of the mountain — Pretty
scenes — Parrot soup — The sentinel — Thermometer 26° —
Frost — Lunar rainbow — A charming spot — A pool of water
— Cones of the main range — A new pass — Dreams realised
— A long glen — Glen Ferdinand — Mount Ferdinand — The
Reid — Large creek — Disturb a native nation — Spears hurled
— A regular attack — Repulse and return of the enemy —
Their appearance — Encounter Creek — Mount Officer — The
Currie — The Levinger — Excellent country — Horse-play —
— Mount Davenport — Small gap — A fairy space — The
Fairies* Glen — Day dreams — Thermometer 24° — Ice —
Mount Oberon — Titania's spring — Horses bewitched — Glen
Watson — Mount Olga in view — The Musgrave range.

Upon inspection this morning we found but a poor
supply of water had drained into our tank in the

A CARPET OF VERDURE. 157

night, and that there was by no means sufficient
for the remaining horses ; these had no water
yesterday. We passed the forenoon in still en-
larging the tank, and as soon as a bucketful
drained in, it was given to one of the horses. We
planted the seeds of a lot of vegetables and trees
here, such as Tasmanian blue gum, wattle, melons,
pumpkins, cucumbers, maize, &c. ; and then Mr.
Tietkens and I got our horses and rode to the
main hills to the west, in hopes of discovering more
water. We started late, and it was dark when we
reached the range. The country passed over
between it and our encampment, was exceedingly
beautiful ; hills being thrown up in red ridges of
bare rock, with the native fig-tree growing among
the rocks, festooning them into infinite groups of
beauty, while the ground upon which we rode was
a periect carpet of verdure. We were therefore in
high anticipation of finding some waters equivalent
to the scene ; but as night was advancing, our search
had to be delayed until the morrow. The dew was
falling fast, the night air was cool, and deliciously
laden with the scented exhalations from trees and
shrubs and flowers. The odour of almonds was
intense, reminding me of the perfumes of the wattle
blooms of the southern, eastern, and more fertile
portions of this continent. So exquisite was the
aroma, that I recalled to my mind Gordon's
beautiful lines : —

" In the spring when the wattle gold trembles,
*Twixt shadow and shine,
When each dew-laden air draught resembles ;
A long draught of wine."

158 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

So delightful indeed was the evening that it was
late when we gave ourselves up to the oblivion of
slumber, beneath the cool and starry sky. We
made a fire against a log about eighteen inches
thick ; this was a limb from an adjacent blood-wood
or red gum-tree, and this morning we discovered
that it had been chopped off its parent stem either
with an axe or tomahawk, and carried some forty
or fifty yards from where it had originally fallen.
This seemed very strange ; in the first place for
natives, so far out from civilisation as this, to have
axes or tomahawks ; and in the second place, to
chop logs or boughs off a tree v/as totally against
their practice. By sunrise we were upon the summit
of the mountain ; it consisted of enormous blocks
and boulders of red granite, so riven and fissured
that no water could possibly lodge upon it for an
instant. I found it also to be highly magnetic, there
being a great deal of ironstone about the rocks. It
turned the compass needle from its true north point
to io° south of west, but the attraction ceased when
the compass was removed four feet from contact
with the rocks. The view from this mount was of
singular and almost awful beauty. The mount, and all
the others connected with it, rose simply like islands
out of a vast ocean of scrub. The beauty of the
locality lay entirely within itself. Innumerable red
ridges ornamented with fig-trees, rising out of green
and grassy slopes, met the eye everywhere to the
east, north, and north-east, and the country between
each was just sufficiently timbered to add a charm
to the view. But the appearance of water still was
wanting ; no signs of it, or of any basin or hollow

VISTA S OF GREEN. 1 5 9

that could hold it, met the gaze in any. direction.
This alone was wanting to turn a wilderness into a
garden.

There were four large mounts in this chain,
higher than any of the rest, including the one I
was on. Here we saw a quantity of what I at first
thought were white sea-shells, but we found they
were the bleached shells of land snails. Far away
to the north some ranges appeared above the dense
ocean of intervening scrubs. To the south, scrubs
reigned supreme ; but to the west, the region for
which I was bound, the prospect looked far more
cheering. The far horizon, there, was bounded by
a very long and apparently connected chain of con-
siderable elevation, seventy to eighty miles away.
One conspicuous mountain, evidently nearer than
the longer chain, bore 15° to the. south of west,
while an apparent gap or notch in the more distant
line bore 23° south of west. The intervening
country appeared all flat, and very much more
open than in any other direction ; I could discern
long vistas of green grass, dotted with yellow im-
mortelles, but as the perspective declined, these all
became lost in lightly timbered country. These
grassy glades were fair to see, reminding one some-
what of Merrie England's glades and Sherwood
forests green, where errant knight in olden days rode
forth in mailed sheen ; and memory oft, the golden
rover, recalls the tales of old romance, how ladie
bright unto her lover, some young knight, smitten
with her glance, would point out some heroic
labour, some unheard-of deed of fame ; he must
carve out with his sabre, and ennoble thus his name.
He, a giant must defeat sure, he must free the land

i6o AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

from tain, he must kill some monstrous creature, or
return not till 'twas slain. Then she'd smile on
him victorious, call him the bravest in the land,
fame and her, to win, how glorious — win and keep
her heart and hand !

Although no water was found here, what it
pleases me to call my mind was immediately made
up. I would return at once to the camp, where
water was so scarce, and trust all to the newly
discovered chain to the west. Water must surely
exist there, we had but to reach it. I named these
mounts Ayers Range. Upon returning to our camp,
six or seven miles off, I saw that a mere dribble of
water remained in the tank. Gibson was away
after the horses, and when he brought them, he
informed me he had found another place, with some
water lying on the rocks, and two native wells close
by with water in them, much shallower than our
present one, and that they were about three miles
away. I rode off with him to inspect his new dis-
covery, and saw there was sufficient surface water
for our horses for a day or two.

These rocks are most singular, being mostly huge
red, rounded solid blocks of stone, shaped like the
backs of enormous turtles. I was much pleased
with Gibson's discovery, and we moved the camp
down to this spot, which we always after called the
Turtle Back. The grass and herbage were ex-
cellent, but the horses had not had sufficient water
since we arrived here. It is wonderful how in such
a rocky region so little water appears to exist. The
surface water was rather difficult for the horses to
reach, as it lay upon the extreme summit of the
rock, the sides of which were very steep and

ORNAMENTED CAVES. i6i

slippery. There were plenty of small birds ;
hawks and crows, a species of cockatoo, some
pigeons, and eagles soaring high above. More
seeds were planted here, the soil being very good.
Upon the opposite or eastern side of this rock was
a large ledge or cave, under which the Troglodytes
of these realms had frequently encamped. It was
ornamented with many of their rude representations
of creeping things, amongst which the serpent class
predominated ; there were also other hideous
shapes, of things such as can exist only in their
imaginations, and they are but the weak endeavours
of these benighted beings to give form and sem-
blance to the symbolisms of the dread superstitions,
that, haunting the vacant chambers of their darkened
minds, pass amongst them in the place of either
philosophy or religion.

Next morning, watering all our horses, and having
a fine open-air bath on the top of the Turtle Back,
Mr. Tietkens and I got three of them and again
started for Ayers Range, nearly west. Reaching it,
we travelled upon the bearing of the gap which we
had seen in the most distant range. The country
as we proceeded we found splendidly open, beauti-
fully grassed, and it rose occasionally into some low
ridges. At fifteen miles from the Turtle Back we
found some clay-pans with water, where we turned
out our horses for an hour. A mob of emus came
to inspect us, and Mr. Tietkens shot one in a fleshy
part of the neck, which rather helped it to run
away at full speed instead of detaining, so that we
might capture it. Next some parallel ridges lying
north and south were crossed, where some beef-
wood, or Grevillea trees, ornamented the scene, the

VOL. I. M

i62 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

country again opening into beautiful grassy lawns.
One or two creek channels were crossed, and a
larger one farther on, whose timber indeed would
scarcely reach our course ; as it would not come to
us, we went to it. The gum-timber upon it was
thick and vigorous — it came from the north-west-
ward. A quantity of the so called tea-tree [Mala-
leuca] grew here. In two miles up the channel we
found where a low ridge crossed and formed a kind
of low pass. An old native well existed here, which,
upon cleaning out with a quart pot, disclosed the
element of our search to our view at a depth of
nearly five feet. The natives always make these
wells of such an abominable shape, that of a funnel,
never thinking how awkward they must be to white
men with horses — some people are so unfeeling ! It
took us a long time to water our three horses.
There was a quantity of the little purple vetch here,
of which all animals are so fond, and which is so
fattening. There was plenty of this herb at the
Turtle Back, and wherever it grows it gives the
country a lovely carnation tinge ; this, blending
with the bright green of the grass, and the yellow
and other tinted hues of several kinds of flowers,
impresses on the whole region the appearance of a
garden.

In the morning, in consequence of a cold and
dewy night, the horses declined to drink. Regaining
our yesterday's course, we continued for ten miles,
when we noticed that the nearest mountain seen
from Ayers Range was now not more than thirty
miles away. It appeared red, bald, and of some
altitude ; to our left was another mass of jumbled
turtle b<ncks, and we turned to search for water

TWO-STORIED NATIVE HUTS. 163

among them. A small gum creek to the south-
south-east was first visited and left in disgust, and
all the rocks and hills we searched, were equally
destitute of water. We wasted the rest of the day
in fruitless search ; Nature seemed to have made
no effort whatever to form any such thing as a rock-
hole, and we saw no place where the natives had ever
even dug. We had been riding from morning until
night, and we had neither found water nor reached
the mountain. We returned to our last night's
camp, where the sand had all fallen into the well,
and we had our last night's performance with the
quart pot to do over again.

In the morning I decided to send Mr. Tietkens
back to the camp to bring the party here, while I
went to the mountain to search for water. We
now discovered we had brought but a poor supply
of food, and that a hearty supper would demolish the
lot, so we had to be sadly economical. When we
got our horses the next morning we departed, each
on his separate errand — Mr. Tietkens for the camp,
I for the mountain. I made a straight course for it,
and in three or four miles found the country ex-
ceedingly scrubby. At ten miles I came upon
a number of native huts, which were of large
dimensions and two-storied ; by this I mean they
had an upper attic, or cupboard recess. When the
natives return to these, I suppose they know of
some water, or else get it out of the roots of trees.
The scrubs became thicker and thicker, and only at
intervals could the mountain be seen. At a spot
where the natives had burnt the old grass, and
where some new rich vegetation grew, I gave my
horse the benefit of an hour s rest, for he had come

M 2

1 64 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

twenty-two miles. The day was delightful ; the
thermometer registered only 76° in the shade. I
had had a very poor breakfast, and now had an
excellent appetite for all the dinner I could com-
mand, and I could not help thinking that there is a
great deal of sound philosophy in the Chinese
doctrine, That the seat of the mind and the intellect
is situate in the stomach.

Starting again and gaining a rise in the dense
ocean of scrub, I got a sight of the mountain, whose
appearance was most wonderful ; it seemed so rifted
and riven, and had acres of bare red rock without a
shrub or tree upon it. I next found myself under
the shadow of a huge rock towering above me
amidst the scrubs, but too hidden to perceive until I
reached it. On ascending it I was much pleased to
discover, at a mile and a half off, the gum timber of
a creek which meandered through this wilderness.
On gaining its banks I was disappointed to find that
its channel was very flat and poorly defined, though
the timber upon it was splendid. Elegant upright
creamy stems supported their umbrageous tops,
whose roots must surely extend downwards to a
moistened soil. On each bank of the creek was a
strip of green and open ground, so richly grassed
and so beautifully bedecked with flowers that it
seemed like suddenly escaping from purgatory into
paradise when emerging from the recesses of the
scrubs on to the banks of this beautiful, I wish I
might call it, stream.

Opposite to where I struck it stood an extra-
ordinary hill or ridge, consisting of a huge red
turtle back having a number of enormous red stones
almost egg-shaped, traversing, or rather standing in

EXTRA ORDINAR Y RIDGE. 165

a row upon, its whole length like a line of elliptical
Tors. I could compare it to nothing else than an
enormous oolitic monster of the turtle kind carrying
its eggs upon its back. A few cypress pine-trees
grew in the interstices of the rocks, giving it a most
elegant appearance. Hoping to find some rock or
other reservoir of water, I rode over to this crea-
ture, or feature. Before reaching its foot, I came
upon a small piece of open, firm, grassy ground,
most beautifully variegated with many-coloured
vegetation, with a small bare piece of ground in the
centre, with rain water lying on it. The place
was so exquisitely lovely it seemed as if only rustic
garden seats were wanting, to prove that it had
been laid out by the hand of man. But it was only
an instance of one of Nature's freaks, in which she
had so successfully imitated her imitator. Art. I
watered my horse and left him to graze on this
delectable spot, while I climbed the oolitic s back.
There was not sufficient water in the garden for
all my horses, and it was actually necessary for
me to find more, or else the region would be
untenable.

The view from this hill was wild and strange ;
the high, bald forehead of the mountain was still
four or five miles away, the country between being
all scrub. The creek came from the south-west-
ward, and was lost in the scrubs to the east of north.
A thick and vigorous clump of eucalypts down the
creek induced me first to visit them, but the chan-
nel was hopelessly dry. Returning, I next went up
the creek, and came to a place where great boulders
of stone crossed the bed, and where several large-
sized holes existed, but were now dry. Hard by,

1 66 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

however, I found a damp spot, and near it in the
sand a native well, not more than two feet deep,
and having water in it. Still farther up I found an
overhanging rock, with a good pool of water at its
foot, and I was now satisfied with my day's work.
Here I camped. I made a fire at a large log lying
in the creek bed ; my horse was up to his eyes in
most magnificent herbage, and I could not help
envying him as I watched him devouring his food.
I felt somewhat lonely, and cogitated that what has
been written or said by cynics, solitaries, or Byrons,
of the delights of loneliness, has no real home in the
human heart. Nothing could appal the mind
so much as the contemplation of eternal solitude.
Well may another kind of poet exclaim, Oh, soli-
tude ! where are the charms that sages have seen in
thy face ? for human sympathy is one of the passions
of human nature. Natives had been here very
recently, and the scrubs were burning, not far off
to the northwards, in the neighbourhood of the
creek channel. As night descended, I lay me down
by my bright camp fire in peace to sleep, though
doubtless there are very many of my readers who
would scarcely like to do the same. Such a situa-
tion might naturally lead one to consider how many
people have lain similarly down at night, in fancied
security, to be awakened only by the enemies' toma-
hawk crashing through their skulls. Such thoughts,
if they intruded themselves upon my mind, were
expelled by others that wandered away to different
scenes and distant friends, for this Childe Harold
also had a mother not forgot, and sisters whom he
loved, but saw them not, ere yet his weary pilgrim-
age begun.

B YRON I' OR BREAKFAST. 1 67

Dreams also, between sleeping and waking,
passed swiftly through my brain, and in my lonely
sleep I had real dreams, sweet, fanciful, and bright,
mostly connected with the enterprise upon which I
had embarked — dreams that I had wandered into,
and was passing through, tracts of fabulously lovely
glades, with groves and grottos green, watered by
never-failing streams of crystal, dotted with clusters
of magnificent palm - trees, and having groves,
charming groves, of the fairest of pines, of groves
** whose rich trees wept odorous gums and balm."

" And all throughout the night there reigned the sense
Of waking dream, with luscious thoughts overladen ;
Of joy too conscious made, and too intense,
By the swift advent of this longed-for aidenn."

On awaking, however, I was forced to reflect,
how " mysterious are these laws ! the vision's finer
than the view : her landscape Nature never draws
so fair as fancy drew." The morning was cold, the
thermometer stood at 28°, and now — •

" The mom was up again, the dewy mom ;
With breath all incense, and with cheek all bloom,
Laughing the clouds away with playful scorn.
And smiling, as if earth contained no tomb :
And glowing into day."

With this charming extract from Byron for break-
fast I saddled my horse, having nothing more to
detain me here, intending to bring up the whole
party as soon as possible.

I now, however, returned by a more southerly
route, and found the scrubs less thick, and came to
some low red rises in them. Having travelled east,
I now turned on the bearing for the tea-tree creek.

1 68 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

where the party ought now to be. At six miles on
this line I came upon some open ground, and saw
several emus. This induced me to look around for
water, and I found some clay-pans with enough
water to last a week. I was very well pleased, as
this would save time and trouble in digging at the
tea-tree. The water here was certainly rather thick,
and scarcely fit for human organisms, at least for
white ones, though it might suit black ones well
enough, and it was good enough for our horses,
which was the greatest consideration. I rested my
horse here for an hour, and then rode to the tea-
tree. The party, however, were not there, and I
waited in expectation of their arrival. In about an
hour Mr. Tietkens came and informed me that on
his return to the camp the other day he had found
a nice little water, six miles from here, and where
the party was, and to which we now rode together.
At this agreeable little spot were the three essen-
tials for an explorer's camp — that is to say, wood,
water, and grass. From there we went to my clay
pans, and the next day to my lonely camp of dreams.
This, the 30th August, was an auspicious day in
our travels, it being no less than Mr. Tietkens s nine-
and-twentieth birthday. We celebrated it with
what honours the expedition stores would afford,
obtaining a flat bottle of spirits from the medical
department, with which we drank to his health and
many happier returns of the day. In honour of the
occasion I called this Tietkens s Birthday Creek, and
hereby proclaim it unto the nations that such should
be its name for ever. The camp was not moved,
but Mr. Tietkens and I rode over to the high moun-
tain to-day, taking with us all the apparatus neces-

A FLAT'TOPPKD HILL. 169

sary for so great an ascent — that is to say, ther-
mometer, barometer, compass, field glasses, quart
pot, water-bag, and matches. In about four miles
we reached its foot, and found its sides so bare and
steep that I took off my boots for the ascent. It
was formed for the most part like a stupendous
turtle back, of a conglomerate granite, with no signs
of water, or any places that would retain it for a
moment, round or near its base. Upon reaching
its summit, the view was most extensive in every
direction except the west, and though the horizon
was bounded in all directions by ranges, yet scrubs
filled the entire spaces between. To the north lay
a long and very distant range, which I thought
might be the Gills Range of my last expedition,
though it would certainly be a stretch either of
imagination or vision, for that range was nearly
140 miles away.

To the north-westward was a flat-topped hill,
rising like a table from an ocean of scrub ; it was
very much higher than such hills usually are. This
was Mount Conner. To the south, and at a con-
siderable distance away, lay another range of some
length, apparently also of considerable altitude. I
called this the Everard Range. The horizon west-
ward was bounded by a continuous mass of hills
or mountains, from the centre of which Birthday
Creek seemed to issue. Many of the mounts
westward appeared of considerable elevation. The
natives were burning the scrubs west and north-
west. On the bare rocks of this mountain we saw
several white, bleached snail-shells. I was grieved
to find that my barometer had met with an accident
in our climb ; however, by testing the boiling point
of water I obtained the altitude.

I70 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

Water boiled at 206° giving an elevation of
3085 feet above the level of the sea, it being about
1200 feet above the surrounding country. The
view of Birthday Creek winding along in little
bends through the scrubs from its parent mountains,
was most pleasing. Down below us were some
very pretty little scenes. One was a small sandy
channel, like a plough furrow, with a few eucalyptus
trees upon it, running from a ravine near the foot of
this mount, which passed at about a mile through
two red mounds of rock, only just wide enough
apart to admit of its passage. A few cypress pines
were growing close to the little gorge. On any
other part of the earth's surface, if, indeed, such
another place could be found, water must certainly
exist also, but here there was none. We had a
perfect bird's-eye view of the spot. We could only
hope, for beauty and natural harmony's sake, that
water must exist, at least below the surface, if not
above. Haviiig completed our survey, we descended
barefooted as before.

On reaching the camp, Gibson and Jimmy had
shot some parrots and other birds, which must have
flown down the barrels of their guns, otherwise they
never could have hit them, and we had an excellent
supper of parrot soup. Just here we have only
seen parrots, magpies, and a few pigeons, though
plenty of kangaroo, wallaby, and emu ; but have
not succeeded in bagging any of the latter game,
as they are exceedingly shy and difficult to approach,
from being so continually hunted by the natives.
I named this very singular feature Mount Carnarvon,
or The Sentinel, as soon I found

" The mountain there did stand
T sentinel enchanted land."

A LUNAR RAINBOW. 171

The night was cold ; mercury down to 26^. What
little dew fell became frosted ; there was not
sufficient to call it frozen. I found my position
here to be in latitude 26° 3', longitude 132° 29'.

In the night of the ist September, heavy
clouds were flying fastly over us, and a few drops
of rain fell at intervals. About ten o'clock p.m.
I observed a lunar rainbow in the northern
horizon ; its diameter was only about fifteen degrees.
There were no prismatic colours visible about it.
To-day was clear, fine, but rather windy. We
travelled up the creek, skirting its banks, but cutting
off the bends. We had low ridges on our right.
The creek came for some distance from the south-
west, then more southerly, then at ten miles, more
directly from the hills to the west. The country
along its banks was excellent, and the scenery most
beautiful — pine-clad, red, and rocky hills being
scattered about in various directions, while further
to the west and south-west the high, bold, and
very rugged chain rose into peaks and points. We
only travelled sixteen miles, and encamped close to
a pretty little pine-clad hill, on the north bank of the
creek, where some rocks traversed the bed, and we
easily obtained a good supply of water. The grass
and herbage being magnificent, the horses were in
a fine way to enjoy themselves.

This spot is one of the most charming that even
imagination could paint. In the background were
the high and pointed peaks of the main chain, from
which sloped a delightful green valley ; through this
the creek meandered, here and there winding
round the foot of little pine-clad hills of unvarying
red colour, whilst the earth from which they sprung

172 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

was covered with a carpet of verdure and vegetation
of almost every imaginable hue. It was happiness
to lie at ease upon such a carpet and gaze upon
such a scene, and it was happiness the more ecstatic
to know that I was the first of a civilised race of
men who had ever beheld it. My visions of a
former night really seemed to be prophetic. The
trend of the creek, and the valley down which it
came, was about 25° south of west. We soon found
it became contracted by impinging hills. At ten
miles from camp we found a pool of water in the
bed. In about a couple of miles farther, to my
surprise I found we had reached its head and its
source, which was the drainage of a big hill. There
was no more water and no rock-holes, neither was
there any gorge. Some triodia grew on the hills,
but none on the lower ground. The valley now
changed into a charming amphitheatre. We had
thus traced our Birthday Creek, to its own birth-
place. It has a short course, but a merry one, and
had ended for us at its proper beginning. As there
appeared to be no water in the amphitheatre, we
returned to the pool we had seen in the creek.
Several small branch creeks running through pretty
little valleys joined our creek to-day. We were
now near some of the higher cones of the main
chain, and could see that they were all entirely
timberless. and that triodia grew upon their sides.
The spot we were now encamped upon was another
scene of exquisite sylvan beauty. We had now
been a month in the field, as to-morrow was the
4th of September, and I could certainly congratu-
late myself upon the result of my first month's
labour.

A LARGE WATERCOURSE. 173

The night was cold and windy, dense nimbus
clouds hovered just above the mountain peaks, and
threatened a heavy downpour of rain, but the
driving gale scattered them into the gelid regions of
space, and after sunrise we had a perfectly clear
sky. I intended this morning to push through what
seemed now, as it had always seemed from the first
moment I saw this range, a main gap through the
chain. Going north round a pointed hill, we were
soon in the trend of the pass ; in five miles we
reached the banks of a new creek, running westerly
into another, or else into a large eucalyptus flat or
swamp, which had no apparent outlet This heavy
timber could be seen for two or three miles.
Advancing still further, I soon discovered that we
were upon the reedy banks of a fast flowing stream,
whose murmuring waters, ever rushing idly and un-
heeded on, were now for the first time disclosed to
the delighted eyes of their discoverer.

Here I had found a spot where Nature truly had

" Shed o*er the scene her purest of crystal, her brightest of green."

This was really a delightful discovery. Everything
was of the best kind here — timber, water, grass, and
mountains. In all my wanderings, over thousands
of miles in Australia, I never saw a more delightful
and fanciful region than this, and one indeed where a
white man might live and be happy. My dreams
of a former night were of a verity realised.

Geographically speaking, we had suddenly come
almost upon the extreme head of a .large water-'
course. Its trend here was nearly south, and I
found it now ran through a long glen in that
direction.

174 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

We saw several fine pools and ponds, where the
reeds opened in the channel, and we flushed up and
shot several lots of ducks. This creek and glen I
have named respectively the Ferdinand and Glen
Ferdinand, after the Christian name of Baron von
Mueller.* The glen extended * nearly five miles,
and where it ended, the water ceased to show upon
the surface. At the end of the glen we encamped,
and I do not remember any day s work during my
life which gave me more pleasure than this, for I
trust it will be believed that —

** The proud desire of sowing broad the germs of lasting worth
Shall challenge give to scornful laugh of careless sons of earth ;
Though mirth deride, the pilgrim feet that tread the desert plain,
The thought that cheers me onward is, I have not lived in

vain."

After our dinner Mr. Tietkens and I ascended the
highest mountain in the neighbourhood — several
others not far away were higher, but this was the
most convenient. Water boiled at its summit at
204°, which gives an altitude above sea level bf
41 3 1 feet, it being about 1500 feet above the
surrounding country. I called this Mount Ferdi-
nand, and another higher point nearly west of it
I called Mount James- Winter.* The view all
round from west to north was shut out. To the
south and south-east other ranges existed. The
timber of the Ferdinand could be traced for many
miles in a southerly direction ; it finally became lost
in the distance in a timbered if not a scrubby
country. This mountain was highly magnetic. I

* The names having a star against them in this book denote
contributors to the fund raised by Baron Mueller* for this
expedition. — E. G.

GREA T NUMBERS OF NA TIVES. 175

am surprised at seeing so few signs of natives in this
region. We returned to the camp and sowed seeds
of many cereals, fodder plants, and vegetables. A
great quantity of tea-tree grew in this glen. The
water was pure and fresh.

Two or three miles farther down, the creek
passed between two hills ; the configuration of the
mountains now compelled me to take a south-
westerly valley for my road. In a few miles another
fine creek-channel came out of the range to the
north of us, near the foot of Mount James-Winter ;
it soon joined a larger one, up which was plenty of
running water ; this I called the Reid.* We were
now traversing another very pretty valljey running
nearly west, with fine cotton and salt-bush flats,
while picturesque cypress pines covered the hills
on both sides of us. Under some hills which
obstructed our course was another creek, where we
encamped, the grass and herbage being most excel-
lent; and this also was a very pretty place. Our
latitude here was 26° 24'.

Gibson went away on horseback this morning to
find the others, but came back on foot to say he had
lost the one he started with. We eventually got
them all, and proceeded down the creek south, then
through a little gap west, on to the banks of a fine
large creek with excellent timber on it. The natives
were burning the grass up the channel north-
westerly. Mr. Tietkens and I rode up in advance
to reconnoitre; we went nearly three miles, when
we came to running water. At the same time we
evidently disturbed a considerable number of
natives, who raised a most frightful outcry at our
sudden and unexpected advent amongst them. Those

176 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

nearest to us walked slowly into the reeds, rushes,
tea-trees, and high salt bushes, but deliberately
watching our every movement. While watering our
horses a great many from the outskirts ran at us,
poising and quivering their spears, some of which
were over ten feet long ; of these, every individual
had an extraordinary number. When they saw us
sitting quietly, but not comfortably, on our horses,
which became very frightened and impatient, they
renewed their horrible yells and gesticulations, some
waving us away, others climbing trees, and directing
their spears at us from the branches. Another lot
on the opposite side of the creek now came rushing
up with spears advanced and ensigns spread, and
with their yells and cries encouraged those near to
spear us. They seemed, however, to have some
doubts of the nature or vulnerability of our horses.
At the head of our new assailants was one sophisti-
cated enough to be able to call out, ** Walk, white
fellow, walk ;" but as we still remained immobile, he
induced some others to join in making a rush at
us, and they hurled their jagged spears at us before
we could get out of the way. It was fortunate
indeed that we were at the extreme distance that
these weapons can be projected, for they struck the
ground right amongst our horses' hoofs, making
them more restive than ever.

I now let our assailants see we were not quite so
helpless as they might have supposed. I unslipped
my rifle, and the bullet, going so suddenly between
two of these worthies and smashing some boughs
just behind them, produced silence amongst the
whole congregation, at least for a moment. All
this time we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of

IN IMMINENT DANGER. 1 7 7

Gibson and Jimmy, as my instructions were that if
we did not return in a given time, they were to
follow after us. But these valiant retainers, who
admitted they heard the firing, preferred to remain
out of harm s way, leaving us to kill or be killed, as
the fortunes of war might determine ; and we at
length had to retreat from our sable enemies, and
go and find our white friends. We got the mob of
horses up, but the yelling of these fiends in human
form, the clouds of smoke from the burning grass
and bushes, and the many disagreeable odours inci-
dent to a large native village, and the yapping and
howling of a lot of starving dogs, all combined to
make us and our horses exceedingly restless. They
seemed somewhat overawed by the number of the
horses, and though they crowded round from all
directions, for there were more than 200 of them,
the women and children being sent away over the
hills at our first approach, they did not then throw
any more spears. I selected as open a piece of
ground as I could get for the camp, which, however,
was very small, back from the water, and nearly
under the foot of a hill. When they saw us dis-
mount, for I believe they had previously believed
ourselves and our horses to form one animal, and
begin to unload the horses, they proceeded properly
to work themselves up for a regular onslaught. So
long as the horses remained close, they seemed dis-
inclined to attack, but when they were hobbled and
went away, the enemy made a grand sortie, rushing
down the hill at the back of the camp where they
had congregated, towards us in a body with spears
fitted in pose and yelling their war cries.

Our lives were in imminent danger ; we had out

VOL. I. N

178 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

all the firearms we could muster ; these amounted
to two rifles, two shot guns, and five revolvers. I
watched with great keenness the motion of their
arms that gives the propulsion to their spears, and
the instant I observed that, I ordered a discharge of
the two rifles and one gun, as it was no use waiting
to be speared first. I delayed almost a second too
long, for at the instant I gave the word several
spears had left the enemy's hands, and it was with
great good fortune we avoided them. Our shots, as
I had ordered, cut up the ground at their feet, and
sent the sand and gravel into their eyes and faces ;
this and the noise of the discharge made the great
body of them pause. Availing ourselves of this
interval, we ran to attack them, firing our revolvers
in quick succession as we ran. This, with the noise
and the to them extraordinary phenomenon of a
projectile approaching them which they could not
see, drove them up into the hills from which they
had approached us, and they were quiet for nearly
an, hour, except for their unceasing howls and yells,
during which time we made an attempt at getting
some dinner. That meal, however, was not com-
pleted when we saw them stealing down on us
again. Again they came more than a hundred
strong, with heads held back, and arms at fullest
tension to give their spears the greatest projective
force, when, just as they came within spear shot,
for we knew the exact distance now, we gave them
another volley, striking the sand up just before their
feet ; again they halted, consulting one another by
looks and signs, when the discharge of Gibson s
gun, with two long-distance cartridges, decided
them, and they ran back, but only to come again.

A USTRALIAN NA TIVES. 179

In consequence of our not shooting any of them,
they began to jeer and laugh at us, slapping their
backsides at and jumping about in front of us, and
indecently daring and deriding us. These were
evidently some of those lewd fellows of the baser
sort (Acts xvii. 5).

We were at length compelled to send some rifle
bullets into such close proximity to some of their
limbs that at last they really did believe we were
dangerous folk after all. Towards night their
attentions ceased, and though they camped just on
the opposite side of the creek, they did not trouble
us any more. Of course we kept a pretty sharp
watch during the night. The men of this nation
were tall, big, and exceedingly hirsute, and in excel-
lent bodily condition. They reminded me of, as no
doubt they are, the prototypes of the account given
by the natives of the Charlotte Waters telegraph
station, on my first expedition, who declared that
out to the west were tribes of wild blacks who were
cannibals, who were covered with hair, and had long
manes hanging down their backs.

None of these men, who perhaps were only the
warriors of the tribe, were either old or grey-haired,
and although their features in general were not
handsome, some of the younger ones' faces were
prepossessing. Some of them wore the chignon,
and others long curls ; the youngest ones who wore
curls looked at a distance like women. A number
were painted with red ochre, and some were in
full war costume, with feathered crowns and head
dresses, armlets and anklets of feathers, and having
alternate stripes of red and white upon the upper
portions of their bodies ; the majority of course

N 2

i8o AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

were in undress uniform. I knew as soon as I
arrived in this region that it must be well if not
densely populated, for it is next to impossible in
Australia for an explorer to discover excellent and
well-watered regions without coming into deadly
conflict with the aboriginal inhabitants. The abori-
gines are always the aggressors, but then the white
man is a trespasser in the first instance, which is
a cause sufficient for any atrocity to be com-
mitted upon him. I named this encounter creek
The Officer.* There was a high mount to the
north-east from here, which lay nearly west from
Mount James-Winter, which I called Mount Officer.*
Though there was a sound of revelry or devilry
by night in the enemy's camp, ours was not passed
in music, and we could not therefore listen to the
low harmonics that undertone sweet music's roll.
Gibson got one of the horses which was in sight, to
go and find the others, while Mr. Tietkens took
Jimmy with him to the top of a hill in order to take
some bearings for me, while I remained at the
camp. No sooner did the natives see me alone
than they recommenced their malpractices. I had
my arsenal in pretty good fighting order, and deter-
mined, if they persisted in attacking me, to let some
of them know the consequences. I was afraid that
some might spear me from behind while others
engaged me in front. I therefore had to be doubly
on the alert. A mob of them came, and I fired in
the air, then on the ground, at one side of them
and then at the other. At last they fell back, and
when the others and the horses appeared, though
they kept close round us, watching every move-
ment, yelling perpetually, they desisted from further

EXCELLENT CO UNTR Y. 1 8 1

attack. I was very gratified to think afterwards
that no blood had been shed, and that we had got
rid of our enemies with only the loss of a little
ammunition. Although this was Sunday, I did not
feel quite so safe as if I were in a church or chapel,
and I determined not to remain. The horses were
frightened at the incessant and discordant yells and
shrieks of these fiends, and our ears also were per-
fectly deafened with their outcries.

We departed, leaving the aboriginal owners of

this splendid piece of land in the peaceful possession
of their beautiful hunting grounds, and travelled
west through a small gap into a fine valley. The
main range continued stretching away north of us
in high and heavy masses of hills, and with a fine
open country to the south. At ten miles we came
to another fine creek, where I found water running ;
this I called the Currie.* It was late when, in six
miles further, we reached another creek, where we
got water and a delightful camp. I called this the
Levinger.* The country to-day was excellent,
being fine open, grassy valleys all the way ; all
along our route in this range we saw great
quantities of white snail-shells, in heaps, at old
native encampments, and generally close to their
fireplaces. In crevices and under rocks we found
plenty of the living snails, large and brown ; it was
evident the natives cook and eat them, the shells
turning white in the fire, also by exposure to the
sun. On starting again we travelled about west-
north-west, and we passed through a piece of
timbered country ; at twelve miles we arrived at
another fine watercourse. The horses were almost
unmanageable with flashness,. running about with

i82 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

their mouths full of the rich herbage, kicking up
their heels and biting at one another, in a perfect
state of horse-play. It was almost laughable to
see them, with such heavy packs on their backs,
attempting such elephantine gambols ; so I kept
them going, to steady them a bit. The creek here
I called Winter * Water. At five miles farther we
passed a very high mountain in the range, which
appeared the highest I had seen; I named it
Mount Davenport. We next passed through a
small gap, over a low hill, and immediately on our
appearance we heard the yells and outcries of
natives down on a small flat below. All we saw,
however, was a small, and I hope happy, family,
consisting of two men, one woman, and another
youthful individual, but whether male or female I
was not sufficiently near to determine. When they
saw us descend from the little hill, they very quickly
walked away, like respectable people. Continuing
our course in nearly the same direction, west-north-
west, and passing two little creeks, I climbed a
small hill and saw a most beautiful valley about a
mile away, stretching north-west, with eucalyptus
or gum timber up at the head of it. The valley
appeared entirely enclosed by hills, and was a
most enticing sight. Travelling on through 200
or 300 yards of mulga, we came out on the open
ground, which was really a sight that would delight
the eyes of a traveller, even in the Province of
Cashmere or any other region of the earth. The
ground was covered with a rich carpet of grass and
herbage; conspicuous amongst the latter was an
abundance of the little purple vetch, which, spreading
over thousands of acres of ground, gave a lovely

A BEAUTIFUL SPOT. 183

pink or magenta tinge to the whole scene. I also
saw that there was another valley running nearly
north, with another creek meandering through it,
apparently joining the pne first seen.

Passing across this fairy space, I noticed the
whitish appearances that usually accompany springs
and Hood-marks in this region. We soon reached
a most splendid kind of stone trough, under a little
stony bank, which formed an excellent spring,
running into and filling the little trough, running
out at the lower end, disappearing below the
surface, evidently perfectly satisfied with the duties
it had to perform.

This was really the most delightful spot I ever
saw ; a region like a garden, with springs of the
purest water spouting out of the ground, ever
flowing into a charming little basin a hundred
yards long by twenty feet wide and four feet deep.
There was a quantity of the tea-tree bush growing
along the various channels, which all contained
running water.

The valley is surrounded by picturesque hills,
and I am certain it is the most charming and
romantic spot I ever shall behold. I immediately
christened it the Fairies' Glen, for it had all the
characteristics to my mind of fairyland. Here we
encamped. I would not have missed finding such
a spot, upon — I will not say what consideration.
Here also of course we saw numbers of both ancient
and modern native huts, and this is no doubt an
old-established and favourite camping ground.
And how could it be otherwise ? No creatures of
the human race could view these scenes with
apathy or dislike, nor would any sentient beings

i84 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

part with such a patrimony at any price but that
of their blood. But the great Designer of the
universe, in the long past periods of creation, per-
mitted a fiat to be recorded, that the beings whom
it was His pleasure in the first instance to place
amidst these lovely scenes, must eventually be
swept from the face of the earth by others more
intellectual, more dearly beloved and gifted than
they. Progressive improvement is undoubtedly the
order of creation, and we perhaps in our turn may
be as ruthlessly driven from the earth by another
race of yet unknown beings, of an order infinitely
higher, infinitely more beloved, than we. On me,
perchance, the eternal obloquy of the execution of
God's doom may rest, for being the first to lead the
way, with prying eye and trespassing foot, into
regions so fair and so remote ; but being guiltless
alike in act or intention to shed the blood of any
human creature, I must accept it without a sigh.

The night here was cold, the mercury at daylight
being down to 24°, and there was ice on the water
or tea left in the pannikins or billies overnight.

This place was so charming that I could not tear
myself away. Mr. Tietkens and I walked to and
climbed up a high mount, about three miles north-
easterly from camp ; it was of some elevation. We
ascended by a gorge having eucalyptus and
callitris pines halfway up. We found water running
from one little basin to another, and high up, near
the summit, was a bare rock over which water was
gushing. To us, as we climbed towards it, it ap-
peared like a monstrous diamond hung in mid-air,
flashing back the rays of the morning sun. I called
this Mount Oberon, after Shakespeare's King of

FAIRYLAND. 185

the Fairies. The view from its summit was limited.
To the west the hills of this chain still run on ; to
the east I could see Mount Ferdinand. The
valley in which the camp and water was situate
lay in all its loveliness at our feet, and the little
natural trough in its centre, now reduced in size by
distance, looked like a silver thread, or, indeed, it
appeared more as though Titania, the Queen of the
Fairies, had for a moment laid her magic silver
wand upon the grass, and was reposing in the sun-
light among the herbage and the flowers. The
day was lovely, the sky serene and clear, and a
gentle zephyr-like breeze merely agitated the at-
mosphere. As we sat gazing over this delightful
scene, and having found also so many lovely spots
in this chain of mountains, I was tempted to believe
I had discovered regions which might eventually
support, not only flocks and herds, but which would
become the centres of population also, each
individual amongst whom would envy me as* being
the first discoverer of the scenes it so delighted
them to view. For here were —

" Long dreamy lawns, and birds on happy wings
Keeping their homes in never-rifled bowers ;
Cool fountains filling with their murmurings
The sunny silence 'twixt the charming hours."

In the afternoon we returned to the camp, and
again and again wondered at the singular manner
in which the water existed here. Five hundred
yards above or below there is no sign of water, but
in that intermediate space a stream gushes out of
the ground, fills a splendid little trough, and gushes
into the ground again : emblematic indeed of the
ephemeral existence of humanity — we rise out of the

i86 AUSTRALTA TWICE TRAVERSED.

dust, flash for a brief moment in the light of life,
and in another we are gone. We planted seeds
here ; I called it Titania's Spring, the watercourse
in which it exists I called Moffatt s* Creek.

The night was totally different from the former,
the mercury not falling below 66°. The horses
upon being brought up to the camp this morning on
foot, displayed such abominable liveliness and
flashness, that there was no catching them. One
colt, Blackie, who was the leader of the riot, I
just managed at length to catch, and then we had to
drive the others several times round the camp at a
gallop, before their exuberance had in a measure
subsided. It seemed, indeed, as if the fairies had
been bewitching them during the night. It was
late when we left the lovely spot. A pretty valley
running north-west, with a creek in it, was our next
road ; our track wound about through the most
splendidly grassed valleys, mostly having a trend
westerly. At twelve miles we saw the gum timber
of a watercourse, apparently debouching through a
glen. Of course there was water, and a channel
filled with reeds, down which the current ran in
never-failing streams. This spot was another of
those charming gems which exist in such numbers in
this chain. This was another of those '* secret nooks
in a pleasant land, by the frolic fairies planned."
I called the place Glen Watson.* From a hill
near I discovered that this chain had now become
broken, and though it continues to run on still
farther west, it seemed as though it would shortly
end. The Mount Olga of my former expedition
was now in view, and bore north 17° west, a con-
siderable distance away. I was most anxious to

GLEN WATSON. 187

visit it. On my former journey I had made many
endeavours to reach it, but was prevented ; now,
however, I hoped no obstacle would occur, and I
shall travel towards it to-morrow. There was more
than a mile of running water here, the horses were
up to their eyes in the most luxuriant vegetation,
and our encampment was again in a most romantic
spot. Ah! why should regions so lovely be
traversed so soon ? This chain of mountains i^
called the Musgrave Range. A heavy dew fell last
night, produced, I imagine, by the moisture in the
glen, and not by extraneous atmospheric causes, as
we have had none for some nights previously.

1 88 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

CHAPTER III.

FROM lOTH SEPTEMBER TO 3OTH SEPTEMBER, 1 873.

Leave for Mount Olga — Change of scene — Desert oak-trees — ^The
Mann range — Eraser's Wells — Mount Olga's foot — Gosse's
expedition — Marvellous mountain — Running water — Black
and gold butterflies — Rocky bath — Ayers' Rock — Appear-
ance of Mount Olga — Irritans camp — Sugar-loaf Hill —
Collect plants — Peaches — A patch of better country — ^A new
creek and glen — Heat and cold — A pellucid pond — Zoe's
Glen — Christy Bagot's Creek — Stewed ducks — A lake —
Hector's Springs and Pass — Lake Wilson — Stevenson's Creek
— Milk thistles — Beautiful amphitheatre — ^A carpet of verdure
— Green swamp— Smell of camels — How I found Livingstone
— Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit — Cotton and salt bush flats —
The Champ de Mars — Sheets of water — Peculiar tree —
Pleasing scene — Harriet's Springs — Water in grass — Ants
and burrs — Mount Aloysius — Across the border — The Bell
Rock.

We left this pretty glen with its purling stream
and reedy bed, and entered very shortly upon an
entirely different country, covered with porcupine
grass. We went north-west to some ridges at
seventeen miles, where there was excellent vegeta-
tion, but no water. I noticed to-day for the first
time upon this expedition some of the desert
oak trees (Casuarina Decaisneana). Nine miles
farther we reached a round hill, from which Mount
Olga bore north. We were still a considerable
distance away, and as I did not know of any water
existing at Mount Olga, I was anxious to find some,

REACH MOUNT OLGA. 189

for the horses had none where we encamped last
night. From this hill I could also see that the
Musgrave chain still ran on to the west ; though
broken and parted in masses, it rose again into high
mounts and points. This continuation is called the
Mann Range. Near the foot of the round hill I saw
a small flat piece of rock, barely perceptible among
the grass ; on it was an old native fireplace and a
few dead sticks. On inspection there proved to be
two fine little holes or basins in the solid rock, with
ample water for all my horses. Scrub and triodia
existed in the neighbourhood, and the feed was very
poor. These were called Fraser s Wells. Mount
Olga was still fifty miles away. We now pushed on
for it over some stony and some scrubby country,
and had to camp without water and with wretched
feed for the horses. Casuarina trees were often
passed. We generally managed to get away early
from a bad camp, and by the middle of the next
day we arrived at the foot of Mount Olga. Here I
perceived the marks of a wagon and horses, and
camel tracks ; these I knew at once to be those of
Gosse's expedition. Gosse had come down south
through the regions, and to the watering places
which I discovered in my former journey. He had
evidently gone south to the Mann range, and I
expected soon to overtake him. I had now
travelled four hundred miles to reach this mount,
which, when I first saw it, was only seventy-five or
eighty miles distant

The appearance of this mountain is marvellous
in the extreme, and baffles an accurate description.
I shall refer to it again, and may remark here that
it is formed of several vast and solid, huge, and

I90 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

rounded blocks of bare red conglomerate stones,
being composed of untold masses of rounded stones
of all kinds and sizes, mixed like plums in a pudding,
and set in vast and rounded shapes upon the
ground. Water was running from the base, down a
stony channel, filling several rocky basins. The
water disappeared in the sandy bed of the creek,
where the solid rock ended. We saw several
quandongs, or native peach-trees, and some native
poplars on our march to-day. I made an attempt
to climb a portion of this singular mound, but
the sides were too perpendicular ; I could only
get up about 800 or 900 feet, on the front or
lesser mound ; but without kites and ropes, or pro-
jectiles, or wings, or balloons, the main summit
is unscaleable. The quandong fruit here was
splendid — we dried a quantity in the sun. Some
very beautiful black and gold butterflies, with very
large wings, were seen here and collected. The
thermometer to-day was 95° in the shade. We
enjoyed a most luxurious bath in the rocky basins.
We moved the camp to softer ground, where there
was a well-grassed flat a mile and a half away. To
the east was a high and solitary mound, mentioned
in my first journal as ranges to the east of Mount
Olga, and apparently lying north and south ; this is
called Ayers* Rock ; I shall have to speak of it
farther on. To the west-south-west were some
pointed ridges, with the long extent of the Mann
Ranges lying east and west, far beyond them to the
south.

The appearance of Mount Olga from this camp
is truly wonderful ; it displayed to our astonished
eyes rounded minarets, giant cupolas, and monstrous

APPEARANCE OP MOUNT OLGA. 191

domes. There they have stood as huge memorials
of the ancient times of earth, for ages, countless
eons of ages, since its creation first had birth. The
rocks are smoothed with the attrition of the alchemy
of years. Time, the old, the dim magician, has
ineffectually laboured here, although with all the
powers of ocean at his command ; Mount Olga has
remained as it was born ; doubtless by the agency
of submarine commotion of former days, beyond
even the epoch of far-back history's phantom
dream. From this encampment I can only liken
Mount Olga to several enormous rotund or rather
elliptical shapes of rouge mange, which had been
placed beside one another by some extraordinary
freak or convulsion of Nature. I found two other
running brooks, one on the west and one on the
north side. My first encampment was on the
south. The position of this extraordinary feature is
in latitude 25° 20' and longitude 130° 57'.

Leaving the mountain, we next traversed a region
of sandy soil, rising into sandhills, with patches of
level ground between. There were casuarinas
and triodia in profusion — two different kinds of
vegetation which appear to thoroughly enjoy one
another's company. We went to the hills south-
south-westerly, and had a waterless camp in the
porcupine, triodia, spinifex, Festuca irritans, and
everything-else-abominable, grass ;f 95° in shade.
At about thirty-two miles from Mount Olga we
came to the foot of the hills, and I found a small
supply of water by digging ; but at daylight next
morning there was not sufficient for half the horses,
so I rode away to look for more ; this I found
in a channel coming from a sugar-loaf or high-

192 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

peaked hill. It was a terribly rough and rocky
place, and it was too late to get the animals up to
the ledges where the water was, and they had to
wait till next day.

From here I decided to steer for a notch in the
Mann Range, nearly south-west. The country con-
sisted chiefly of sandhills, with casuarina and flats
with triodia. We could get no water by night.
I collected a great quantity of various plants and
flowers along all the way I had come in fact, but
just about Mount Olga I fancied I had discovered
several new species. To-day we passed through some
mallee, and gathered quandongs or native peach,
which, with sugar, makes excellent jam ; we also
saw currajongs and native poplars. We now turned
to some ridges a few miles nearer than the main
range, and dug a tank, for the horses badly wanted
water. A very small quantity drained in, and the
animals had to go a second night un watered. It
was now the 22 nd of September, and I had hoped
to have some rain at the equinox, but none had yet
fallen. The last two days have been very warm
and oppressive. The country round these ridges
was very good, and plenty of the little purple vetch
grew here. The tank in the morning was quite
full ; it however watered only seventeen horses, but
by twelve o'clock all were satisfied, and we left the
tank for the benefit of those whom it might concern.
We were steering for an enticing-looking glen
between two high hills about south-south-west.
We passed over sandhills, through scrubs, and
eventually on to open ground. At two or three
miles from the new range we crossed a kind of dry
swamp or water flat, being the end of a gum creek.

A MOUNTAIN BATH. 193

A creek was seen to issue from the glen as we
approached, and at twelve miles from our last camp
we came upon running water in the three channels
which existed. The day was warm, 94°. The
water was slightly brackish. Heat and cold are
evidently relative perceptions, for this morning,

ZOE'O GLEN.

although the thermometer stood at 58°, I felt the
atmosphere exceedingly cold. We took a walk up
the glen whence the creek flows, and on to some
hills which environ it. The water was rushing
rapidly down the glen ; we found several fine rock-

VOL. I. o

194 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

basins — one in particular was nine or ten feet deep,
the pellucid element descending into it from a small
cascade of the rocks above ; this was the largest
sheet of water per se I had yet discovered upon
this expedition. It formed a most picturesque and
delightful bath, and as we plunged into its trans-
parent depths we revelled, as it were, in an almost
newly discovered element. I called this charming
spot Zoe s Glen. In our wanderings up the glen
we had found books in the running brooks, and
sermons in stones. The latitude of this pretty little
retreat was 25° 59'. I rode a mile or two to the
east to inspect another creek ; its bed was larger
than ours, and water was running down its channel.
I called it Christy Bagot's Creek. I flushed up a
lot of ducks, but had no gun. On my return
Gibson and Jimmy took the guns, and walked over
on a shooting excursion ; only three ducks were
shot ; of these we made an excellent stew. A
strong gale of warm wind blew from the south all
night. Leaving Zoe's Glen, we travelled along the
foot of the range to the south of us ; at six or seven
miles I observed a kind of valley dividing this
range running south, and turned down into it. It
was at first scrubby, then opened out. At four
miles Mr. Tietkens and I mounted a rocky rise» and
he, being ahead, first saw and informed me that
there was a lake below us, two or three miles away.
I was very much gratified to see it, and we
immediately proceeded towards it. The valley or
pass had now become somewhat choked with low
pine-clad stony hills, and we next came upon a
running creek with some fine little sheets of water ;
it meandered round the piny hills and exhausted

LAKE WILSON. 195

itself upon the bosom of the lake. I called these
the Hector Springs and Hector Pass after Hector
Wilson.* On arrival at the lake I found its waters
were slightly brackish ; there was no timber on its
shores ; it lay close under the foot of the mountains,
having their rocky slopes for its northern bank.
The opposite shore was sandy ; numerous ducks
and other water-fowl were floating on its breast.
Several springs from the ranges ran into its
northern shore, and on its eastern side a large creek
ran in, though its timber did not grow all the way.
The water was now eight or nine miles round ; it
was of an oblong form, whose greatest length
is east and west. When quite full this basin
must be at least twenty miles in circumference ;
I named this fine sheet of water Lake Wilson.*
The position of this lake I made out to be in lon-
gitude 129° 52'. A disagreeable warm wind blew
all day.

The morning was oppressive, the warm south
wind still blowing. We left Lake Wilson, named
after Sir Samuel, who was the largest contributor to
this expedition fund, in its wildness, its loneliness,
and its beauty, at the foot of its native mountains,
and went away to some low hills south-south-west,
where in nine miles we got some water in a channel
I called Stevenson's* Creek. In a few miles further
we found ourselves in a kind of glen where water
bubbled up from the ground below. The channel
had become filled with reeds, and great quantities of
enormous milk or sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceous).
Some of the horses got bogged in this ravine, which
caused considerable delay. Eventually it brought
us out into a most beautiful amphitheatre, into which

o 2

196 A USTRALIA TWICE TRA VERSED.

several creeks descended. This open space was
covered with the richest carpet of verdure, and was
a most enchanting spot. It was nearly three miles
across; we went over to its southern side, and
camped under the hills which fenced it there, and
among them we obtained a supply of water. The
grass and herbage here were magnificent The
only opening to this beautiful oval was some distance
to the east ; we therefore climbed over the hills to
the south to get away, and came upon another fine
valley nmning westward, with a continuous line of
hills running parallel to it on the north. We made
a meandering course, in a south-westerly direction,
for about fifteen miles, when the hills became low
and isolated, and gave but a poor look out for
water. Other hills in a more continuous line bore to
the north of west, to which we went. In three miles
after this we came to a valley with a green swamp
in the middle ; it was too boggy to allow horses to
approach. A round hill in another valley was
reached late, and here our pack-horses, being
driven in a mob in front of us, put their noses to the
ground and seemed to have smelt something
unusual, which proved to be Mr. Gosses dray
track. Our horses were smelling the scent of his
camels from afar. The dray track was now com-
paratively fresh, and I had motives for following it.
It was so late we had to encamp without finding the
water, which I was quite sure was not far from us,
and we turned out our horses hoping they might
discover it in the night.

I went to sleep that night dreaming how I had
met Mr. Gosse in this wilderness, and produced a
parody upon * How I found Livingstone.' We

AGREEABLE REGIONS. 197

travelled nearly thirty miles to-day upon all courses,
the country passed over being principally very fine
valleys, richly clothed with grass and almost every
other kind of valuable herbage. Yesterday, the
28th of September, was rather a warm day; I
speak by the card, for at ten o'clock at night Herr
Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit had not condescended to
fall below 82°. The horses found water in the
night, and in the morning looked sleek and full. I
intended now, as I said before, to follow Gosse's
dray track, for I knew he could not be very far
in advance.

We followed the track a mile, when it turned
suddenly to the south-west, down a valley with a
creek in it that lay in that direction. But as a more
leading one ran also in a more westerly direction, I
left the dray track almost at right angles, and
proceeded along the more westerly line. The
valley I now traversed became somewhat scrubby
with mallee and triodia. In seven or eight miles we
got into much better country, lightly timbered with
mulga and splendidly grassed. Here also were
some cotton and salt bush flats. To my English
reader I may say that these shrubs, or plants, or
bushes are the most valuable fodder plants for
stock known in Australia ; they are varieties of the
Atriplex family of plants, and whenever I can
record meeting them, I do it with the greatest
satisfaction. At twelve miles the hills to our north
receded, and there lay stretched out before us
a most beautiful plain, level as a billiard table
and green as an emerald. Viewing it from the
top of a hill, I could not help thinking what a
glorious spot this would make for the display

198 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

of cavalry manoeuvres. In my mental eye I could
see

" The rush of squadrons sweeping,
Like whirlwinds o*er the plain ; "

and mentally hear

" The shouting of the slayers.
The screeching of the slain."

I called this splendid circle the Champ de Mars ;
it is, I dare say, fifteen or sixteen miles round. The
hills on the northern side were much higher than
those near us, and appeared more inviting for
water; so we rode across the circle to them. In a
kind of gully between the hills, at four and a half
miles, I found a rock-hole full of water in a triodia
creek ; it was seven or eight feet deep, and almost
hidden amongst rocks and scrubs. The water
drained into the hole from above. By the time my
horses were all satisfied they had lowered it very
considerably, and I did not think there would be a
drink for them all in the morning ; but when we
took them up next day I found the rocky basin had
been replenished during the night.

A valley led away from here, along the foot of
the northern hills, almost west. At five miles we
crossed the channel of a fine little creek, coming
from thence ; it had several sheets of water with
rocky banks, and there were numerous ducks on
the waters. The timber upon this creek was
mostly blood-wood or red gum ; the blood-wood has
now almost entirely supplanted the other eucalypts.
There was another tree of a very peculiar leaf
which I have often met before, but only as a bush ;
here it had assumed the proportions of a tree.

THE CHAMP DE MARS. 199

This was one of the desert acacias, but which of
them I could not tell. Farther on were several
bare red hills, festooned with cypress pines, which
always give a most pleasing tone to any Australian
view. These I called Harriet s Springs. The creek
meandered away down the valley amongst pine-
clad hills to the south-westward, and appeared to
increase in size below where we crossed it.

I ascended a hill and saw that the two lines of
hills encircling the Champ de Mars had now
entirely separated, the space between becoming
gradually broader.

A pointed hill at the far end of the southern
line bore west, and we started away for it. We
continued on this west course for fifteen or sixteen
miles, having the southern hills very close to our
line of march. Having travelled some twenty miles,
I turned up a blind gully or water-channel in a
small triodia valley, and found some water lying
about amongst the grass. The herbage here was
splendid. Ants and burrs were very annoying,
however ; we have been afflicted with both of these
animal and vegetable annoyances upon many oc-
casions all through these regions. There was a
high, black-looking mountain with a conical summit,
in the northern line of ranges, which bore north-
westward from here. I named it Mount Aloysius,
after the Christian name of Sir A. F. Weld,
Governor of Western Australia. We had entered
the territory of the Colony of Western Australia on
the last day of September ; the boundary between
it and South Australia being the 129th meridian
of east longitude. The latitude by stars of this
camp was 26° 9'. Leaving it early, we continued

200 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

upon the same line as yesterday, and towards the
same hill, which we reached in five miles, and
ascended. It was nearly the most westerly point
of the line of hills we had been following. The
summit of this hill I found to consist of great
masses of rifted stone, which were either solid iron
or stone coated thickly with it. The blocks rang
with the sound of my iron-shod boots, while moving
over them, with such a musical intonation and bell-
like clang, that I called this the Bell Rock. Mount
Aloysius bore north 9° west, distant about ten
miles ; here I saw it was quite an isolated range,
as, at its eastern and western extremities, open
spaces could be seen between it and any other
hills.

A WEST-NORTff-WEST LINE. 201

CHAPTER IV.

FROM 3OTH SEPTEMBER TO 9TH NOVEMBER, 1 873.

Native encampment — Fires alight — Hogarth's Wells — Mount
Marie and Mount Jeanie — Pointed ranges to the west — Chop
a passage — ^Traces of volcanic action — Highly magnetic
hills — The Leipoa ocellata — Tapping pits — Glen Osborne —
Cotton-bush flats — Frowning bastion walls — Fort Mueller — ^A
strong running stream — Natives' smokes — Gosse returning —
Limestone formation — Native pheasants' nests — Egg-carrying
— Mount Squires — The Mus conditor's nest — Difficulty with
the horses — A small creek and native well — Steer for the
west — Night work — Very desolate places — A circular storm
— The Shoeing Camp — A bare hijl — ^The Cups — Fresh-
looking creek — Brine and bitter water — The desert pea —
Jimmy and the natives — Natives prowling at night — Search-
ing for water — Horses suffering from thirst — Horseflesh —
The Cob — The camp on fire — Men and horses choking for
water — Abandon the place — Displeasing view — Native signs
— Another cup — Thermometer 106° — Return to the Cob —
Old dry well— A junction from the east — Green rushes —
— Another waterless camp — Return to the Shoeing Camp —
Intense cold — Biting dogs* noses — A nasal organ— Boiling
an tgg — Tietkens and Gibson return unsuccessful — Another
attempt west — Country burnt by natives.

We had now been travelling along the northern
foot of the more southerly of the two lines of hills
which separated, at the west end of the Champ de
Mars ; and on reaching the Bell Rock, this southern
line ceased, while the northern one still ran on,
though at diminished elevation, and we now

202 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

travelled towards two hills standing together about
west-north-west. On reaching them, in thirteen
miles, I found a native encampment; there were
several old and new bough gunyahs, and the fires
were alight at the doors ? of many of them. We
could not see the people because they hid them-
selves, but I knew quite well they were watching
us close by. There was a large bare slab of rock,
in which existed two fine cisterns several feet in
depth, one much longer than the other, the small
one containing quite a sufficient supply for all my
horses. I called these Hogarth's Wells, and the
two hills Mount Marie and Mount Jeanie. I was
compelled to leave one of these receptacles empty,
which for ages the simple inhabitants of these
regions had probably never seen dry before. Some
hills lay south-westerly, and we reached them in
nine miles ; they were waterless. Southward the
country appeared all scrub. The western horizon
was broken by ranges with some high points
amongst them ; they were a long way off. To the
west-north-west some bald ranges also ran on. I
made across to them, steering for a fall or broken
gap to the north-north-west. This was a kind of
glen, and I found a watercourse in it, with a great
quantity of tea-tree, which completely choked up
the passage with good-sized trees, whose limbs and
branches were so interwoven that they prevented
any animal larger than a man from approaching the
water, bubbling along at their feet. We had to
chop a passage to it for our horses. The hills were
quite destitute of timber, and were composed of
huge masses pf rifted granite, which could only
have been so riven by seisriiatic action, which at

VOLCAmC ACTION. 203

one time must have been exceedingly frequent in
this region.

I may mention that, from the western half of the
Musgrave Range, all the Mann, the Tomkinson,
and other ranges westward have been shivered into
fragments by volcanic force. Most of the higher
points of all the former and latter consist of frown-
ing masses of black-looking or intensely red iron-
stone, or granite thickly coated with iron. Triodia
grows as far up the sides of the hills as it is possible
to obtain any soil ; but even this infernal grass
cannot exist on solid rock ; therefore all the summits
of these hills are bare. These shivered masses of
stone have large interstices amongst them, which
are the homes, dens, or resorts of swarms of a
peculiar marsupial known as the rock wallaby, which
come down on to the lower grounds at night to feed.
If they expose themselves in the day, they are the
prey of aborigines and eagles, if at night, they
fall victims to wild dogs or dingos. The rocks
frequently change their contours from earthquake
shocks, and great numbers of these creatures are
crushed and smashed by the trembling rocks, so
that these unfortunate creatures, beset by so many
dangers, exist always in a chronic state of fear and
anxiety, and almost perpetual motion. These hills
also have the metallic clang of the Bell Rock, and
are highly magnetic. In the scrubs to-day Gibson
found a lowan's or scrub pheasant's nest. These
birds inhabit the most waterless regions and the
densest scrubs, and live entirely without water.

This bird is figured in Gould's work on Australian
ornithology ; it is called the Leipoa ocellata. Two
specimens of these birds are preserved in the

204 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

Natural History Department of the British Museum
at Kensington. We obtained six fresh eggs from
it. I found another, and got five more. We saw
several native huts in the scrubs, some of them of
large dimensions, having limbs of the largest trees
they could get to build them with. When living
here, the natives probably obtain water from roots
of the mulga. This must be the case, for we often
see small circular pits dug at the foot of some of
these trees, which, however, generally die after the
operation of tapping. I called the spot Glen
Osborne ; * we rested here a day. We always have
a great deal of sewing and repairing of the canvas
pack-bags to do, and a day of rest usually means a
good day's work ; it rests the horses, however, and
that is the main thing. Saturday night, the 4th
October, was a delightfully cool one, and on Sunday
we started for some hills in a south-westerly direc-
tion, passing some low ridges. We reached the
higher ones in twenty-two miles. Nearing them, we
passed over some fine cotton-bush flats, so-called
from bearing a small cotton-like pod, and im-
mediately at the hills we camped on a piece of
plain, very beautifully grassed, and at times liable
to inundation. It was late when we arrived ; no
water could be found ; but the day was cool, and
the night promised to be so too ; and as I felt sure
I should get water in these hills in the morning,
I was not very anxious on account of the horses.
These hills are similar to those lately described,
being greatly impregnated with iron and having
vast upheavals of iron-coated granite, broken and
lying in masses of black and pointed rock, upon
all their summits. Their sides sloped somewhat

GOSSE RETURNS. 205

abruptly, they were all highly magnetic, and had
the appearance of. frowning, rough-faced, bastion
walls. Very early I climbed up the hills, and from
the top I saw the place that was afterwards to be
our refuge, though it was a dangerous one. This is
called the Cavanagh Range, but as, in speaking of
it as my depot, it was called Fort Mueller,* I shall
always refer to it by that name. What I saw was
a strong running stream in a confined rocky, scrubby
glen, and smokes from natives' fires. When bring-
ing the horses, we had to go over less difficult
ground than I had climbed, and on the road we
found another stream in another valley, watered the
horses, and did not then go to my first find. There
was fine open, grassy country all round this range ;
we followed the creek down from the hills to it.
On reaching the lower grassy ground, we saw
Mr. Gosse s dray-track again, and I was not sur-
prised to see that the wagon had returned upon
its outgoing track, and the party were now returning
eastwards to South Australia. I had for some days
anticipated meeting him ; but now he was going
east, and I west, I did not follow back after him.
Shortly afterwards, rounding the spurs of these hilli^,
we came to the channel of the Fort Mueller creek,
which I had found this morning, and though there
was no surface-water, we easily obtained some by
digging in the sandy creek-bed. A peculiarity of the
whole of this region is, that water cannot exist far
from the rocky foundations of the hills ; the instant
the valleys open and any soil appears, down sinks
the water, though a fine stream may be running
only a few yards above. Blankets were again
required for the last two nights. I found my

2o6 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

position here to be in latitude 26° 12', longitude
127° 59' o".

Leaving this encampment, we struck away for a
new Hne of ranges. The country was very peculiar,
and different from any we had yet met ; it was
open, covered with tall triodia, and consisted almost
entirely of limestone. At intervals, eucalyptus-trees
of the mallee kind, and a few of the pretty-looking
blood-wood-trees and some native poplars were
seen ; there was no grass for several miles, and we
only found some poor dry stuff for the horses in a
patch of scrub, the ground all round being stony
and triodia-set. To-day we came upon three lowans'
or native pheasants* nests. These birds, which
somewhat resemble guinea-fowl in appearance,
build extraordinarily large nests of sand, in which
they deposit small sticks and leaves ; here the female
lays about a dozen eggs, the decomposition of the
vegetable matter providing the warmth necessary to
hatch them. These nests are found only in thick
scrubs. I have known them five to six feet high,
of a circular conical shape, and a hundred feet round
the base. The first, though of enormous size, pro-
duced only two eggs ; the second, four, and the
third, six. We thanked Providence for supplying
us with such luxuries in such a wilderness. There
are much easier feats to perform than the carrying
of lowans' eggs, and for the benefit of any readers
who don't know what those eggs are like, I may
mention that they are larger than a goose ^%^y and
of a more delicious flavour than any other egg in the
world. Their shell is beautifully pink tinted, and
so terribly fragile that, if a person is not careful in
lifting them, the fingers will crunch through the

LO IVANS' EGGS. 207

tinted shell in an instant. Therefore, carrying a
dozen of such eggs is no easy matter. I took upon
myself the responsibility of bringing our prize safe
into camp, and I accomplished the task by packing
them in grass, tied up in a handkerchief, and slung
round my neck ; a fine fardel hanging on my chest,
immediately under my chin. A photograph of a
person with such an appendage would scarcely lead
to recognition. We used some of the eggs in our
tea as a substitute for milk. A few of the eggs
proved to possess some slight germs of vitality, the
preliminary process being the formation of eyes.
But explorers in the field are not such particular
mortals as to stand upon such trifles ; indeed, par-
boiled, youthful, lowans' eyes are considered quite
a delicacy in the camp.

At early dawn there was brilliant lightning to
the west, and the horizon in that direction became
cloudy. Thunder also was heard, but whatever
storm there might have been, passed away to the
south of us. In the course of a few miles we left
the limestone behind, and sandhills again came on.
We went over two low ridges, and five or six miles
of scrub brought us to the hills we were steering
for. Some pine-clad bare rocks induced us to visit
them to see if there were rock-holes anywhere.
Mr. Tietkens found a native well under one of the
rocks, but no water was seen in it, so we went to
the higher hills, and in a gully found but a poor
supply. There was every appearance of approach-
ing rain, and we got everything under canvas, but
in the night of the 9th October a heavy gale of
wind sprang up and blew away any rain that might

2o8 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

have fallen. As, however, it was still cloudy, we
remained in camp.

From the highest hill here, called Mount Squires,
the appearance of the country surrounding was
most strange. To the west, and round by north-
west to north, was a mass of broken timbered hills
with scrubby belts between. The atmosphere was
too hazy to allow of distinct vision, but I could dis-
tinguish lines of hills, if not ranges, to the westward
for a long distance. The view was by no means
encouraging, but as hills run on, though entirely
different now from those behind us, our only hope
is that water may yet be discovered in them. The
whole region round about was enveloped in scrubs,
and the hills were not much more than visible above
them.

The sky had remained cloudy all yesterday, and
I hoped, if the wind would only cease, rain would
surely fall ; so we waited and hoped against hope.
We had powerful reverberations of thunder, and
forked and vivid lightnings played around, but no
rain fell, although the atmosphere was surcharged
with electricity and moisture. The wished-for rain
departed to some far more favoured places, some
happier shores from these remote ; and as if to mock
our wishes, on the following morning we had nearly
three minutes' sprinkling of rain, and then the sky
became clear and bright.

By this time we had used up all the water we
could find, and had to go somewhere else to get
more. A terrible piece of next-to-impassable scrub,
four or five miles through, lay right in our path ; it
also rose and fell into ridges and gullies in it. We

DESOLATE PLACES. 209

saw one of the Mus conditor, or building rats* nests,
which is not the first we have seen by many on this
expedition. The scrub being so dense, it was
impossible to see more than two or three of the
horses at a time, and three different times some of
them got away and tried to give us the slip ; this
caused a great deal of anxiety and trouble, besides
loss of time. Shortly after emerging from the
scrubs, we struck a small creek with one or two
gum-trees on it ; a native well was in the bed, and
we managed to get water enough for the horses,
we having only travelled six miles straight all day.
This was a very good, if not actually a pretty,
encampment ; there was a narrow strip of open
ground along the banks, and good vegetation for
the horses. We slept upon the sandy bed of the
creek to escape the terrible quantities of burrs
which grew all over these wilds.

We steered away nearly west for the highest
hills we had seen yesterday ; there appeared a fall
or gap between two ; the scrubs were very thick to-
day, as was seen by the state of our pack-bags, an
infallible test, when we stopped for the night,
during the greater part of which we had to repair
the bags. We could not find any water, and we
seemed to be getting into very desolate places. A
densely scrubby and stony gully was before us,
which we had to get through or up, and on reaching
the top I was disappointed to find that, though
there was an open valley below, the hills all round
seemed too much disconnected to form any good
watering places. Descending, and leaving Gibson
and Jimmy with the horses, Mr. Tietkens and I

VOL. I. p

2IO AUSTRALIA TIVICE TRAVERSED.

rode in diflferent directions in search of water. In
about two hours we met. in the only likely spot
either of us had seen ; this was a little watercourse;
and following it up to the foot of the hills found a
most welcome and unexpectedly large pond for
such a place. Above it in the rocks were a line of
little basins which contained water, with a rather
pronounced odour of stagnation about it: above
them again the water was running, but there was a
space between upon which no water was seen. We
returned for the horses and camped as near as we
could find a convenient spot ; this, however, w:as
nearly a mile from the water. The valley ran
north-east and south-west ; it was verj- narrow, not
too open, and there was but poor grass and herbage,
the greater portion of the vegetation being spinifex.
At eight o'clock at night a thunderstorm came over
us from the west, and sprinkled us with a few drops
of rain ; from west the storm travelled north-west,
thence north to east and south, performing a perfect
circle around ; reaching its original starting point in
about an hour, it disappeared, going northerly again.
The rest of the night was beautifully calm and
clear. Some of our horses required shoeing for the
first time since we had left the telegraph line, now
over 600 miles behind us. From the top of a hill
here the western horizon was bounded by low
scrubby ridges, with an odd one standing higher
than the rest ; to one of these I decided to go next.
Some other hills lay a little more to the south, but
there was nothing to choose between them ; hills
also ran along eastward and north-eastwards. At
eight o'clock again to-night a thunderstorm came up

A FRESH LOOKING CREEK. 211

from the westward ; it sprinkled us with a few
drops of rain, and then became dispersed to the
south and south-east.

The following day we passed in shoeing horses,
mending pack-bags, re-stuffing pack-saddles, and
general repairs. While out after the horses Mr.
Tietkens found another place with some water, about
two miles southerly on the opposite or west side of
the valley. Finishing what work we had in hand,
we remained here another day. I found that water
boiled in this valley at 209°, making the approxi-
mate altitude of this country 1534 above sea level.
This we always called the Shoeing Camp. We had
remained there longer than at any other encamp-
ment since we started ; we arrived on the 14th and
left on the 1 8th October.

Getting over a low fall in the hills opposite the
camp, I turned on my proper course for another hill
and travelled fifteen miles ; the first three being
through very fine country, well grassed, having a
good deal of salt bush, being lightly timbered, and
free from spinifex. The scrub and triodia very soon
made their appearance together, and we were forced
to camp in a miserable place, there being neither
grass nor water for the unfortunate horses.

The next morning we deviated from our course
on seeing a bare-looking rocky hill to the right of
our line of march ; we reached it in ten miles.
Searching about, I found several small holes or cups
worn into the solid rock ; and as they mostly con-
tained water, the horses were unpacked, while a
farther search was made. This hill was always
after called the Cups. I rode away to other hills
westward, and found a fresh-looking creek, which

p 2

212 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

emptied into a larger one ; but I could find no
but brine and bitter water. For the first tim
this journey I found at this creek great quan
of that lovely flower, the desert pea, Cliai
Damperii. The creek ran south-westward
searched for hours for water without success,
returned to the party at dusk. Mr. Tietkens
found some more water at another hill ; and he
Gibson took some of the horses over to it, Icc
Jimmy alone.

Jimmy walked over to one cup we had res€
; for our own use, to fill the tin-billy for tea. Wa'

; along with his eyes on the ground, and prol

thinking of nothing at all, he reached the cup,

: to his horror and amazement, discovered some t

; ; or forty aboriginals seated or standing round

,i 1 spot. As he came close up to, but without se

^ them, they all yelled at him in chorus, elic

from him a yell in return ; then, letting fall th<
things he was carrying, he fairly ran back tc
camp, when he proceeded to get all the guns
rifles in readiness to shoot the whole lot. But
Tietkens and Gibson returning with the ho
having heard the yells, caused the natives to dec;
and relieved poor Jimmy's mind of its load of
and fear. No doubt these Autocthones
dreadfully annoyed to find their little reser
discovered by such water-swallowing wretche
they doubtless thought white men and horses tc
I could only console myself with the reflection,
in such a region as this we must be prepare
lay down our lives at any moment in our attei
to procure water, and we must take it when we
it at any price, as life and water are synonyr

SCARCITY OF WATER. 213

terms. I dare say they know where to get more,
but I don't. Some natives were prowling about our
encampment all the first half of the night, and my
little dog kept up an incessant barking ; but the
rest was silence.

We used every drop of water from every cup,
and moved away for the bitter water I found
yesterday. I thought to sweeten it by opening the
place with a shovel, and baling a lot of the stagnant
water out ; but it was irreclaimable, and the horses
could not drink it.

Mr. Tietkens returned after dark and reported he
had found only one poor place, that might yield
sufficient for one drink for all the horses ; and we
moved down three miles. It was then a mile up
in a little gully that ran into our creek. Here
we had to dig out a large tank, but the water
drained in so slowly that only eight horses could be
watered by midday ; at about three o'clock eight
more were taken, and it was night before they were
satisfied ; and now the first eight came up again for
more, and all the poor wretches were standing in
and around the tank in the morning. The next day
was spent in doling out a few quarts of water to
each horse, while I spent the day in a fruitless
search for the fluid which evidently did not exist.
Six weeks or two months ago there must have been
plenty of water here, but now it was gone ; and had
I been here at that time, I have no doubt I might
have passed across to the Murchison ; but now I
must retreat to the Shoeing Camp. When I got
back at night, I found that not half the horses had
received even their miserable allowance of three
quarts each, and the horse I had ridden far and fast

214 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

all day could get none : this was poor little W
of my first expedition. One little wretched
horse was upon the last verge of existence ; he
evidently not well, and had been falling away
shadow for some time ; he was for ever hiding
self in the scrubs, and caused as much troubl
look after him as all the others put together,
was nearly dead ; water was of no use to him,
his hide might be useful in repairing some p
bags, and we might save our stores for a tim
eating him ; so he was despatched from this s
of woe, but not without woeful cruelty ; for Jii
volunteered to shoot him, and walkttd down
creek a few yards to where the poor little ere?
stood. The possibility of any one not puttii
bullet into the creature's forehead at once, n
^; \ occurred to me ; but immediately after we hearc

** * shot, Jimmy came sauntering up and said, **

he wants another dose." I jumped up and

** Oh, you young " No, I won't say what I

Jimmy. Then Gibson offered to do it, and wi
very similar result. With suaviter in modo,
fortiter in re, I informed him that I did not con
him a sufficiently crack shot to enable him to \
Wimbledon shield ; and what the deuce did
but there, I had to shoot the poor miserable crea
who already had two rifle bullets in his carcass,
I am sure with his last breath he thanked m^
that quick relief. There was not sufficient flesl
his bones to cure ; but we got a quantity of
there was, and because we fried it we called it s
and because we called it steak we said we enj
it, though it was utterly tasteless. The hide
quite rotten and useless, being as thin and Aim

RETREAT TO SHOEING CAMP. 215

brown paper. It was impossible now to push
farther out west, and a retreat to the Shoeing Camp
had to be made, though we could not reach it in a
day. Thermometer while on this creek 99°, and
100° in shade. This place was always called the
Cob.

We had great difficulty in driving the horses past
the Cups, as the poor creatures "having got water
there once, supposed it always existed there. Some
of these little indents held only a few pints of water,
others a few quarts, and the largest only a few gallons.
Early the second day we got back, but we had left
so little water behind us, that we found it nearly
all gone. Six days having elapsed makes a won-
derful difference in water that is already inclined
to depart with such evaporation as is always going
on in this region. We now went to where Mr.
Tietkens had found another place, and he and
Gibson took the shovel to open it out, while Jimmy
and I unpacked the horses. Here Jimmy Andrews
set Bre to the spinifex close to all our packs and
saddles, and a strong hot wind blowing, soon placed
all our belongings in the most terrible jeopardy.
The grass was dry and thick, and the fire raged
around us in a terrific manner ; guns and rifles,
riding- and pack-saddles were surrounded by flames
in a moment We ran and halloed and turned
back, and frantically threw anything we could catch
hold of on to the ground already burnt. Upsetting
a couple of packs, we got the bags to dash out the
flames, and it was only by the most desperate ex-
ertions we saved nearly everything. The instant
a thing was lifted, the grass under it seemed to
catch fire spontaneously ; I was on fire, Jimmy was

2i6 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

on fire, my brains were in a fiery, whirling I
and what with the heat, dust, smoke, ashes
wind, I thought I must be suddenly translat
Pandemonium. Our appearance also was
Satanic, for we were both as black as demons.

There was no shade ; we hadn't a drop of v

and without speaking a word, off we went u

gully to try and get a drink ; there was onlj

enough thick fluid for us, the horses standing

consolately round. The day was hot, the thermoi

; marked 105°. There was not sufficient water

j: for the horses, and I decided, as we had not ac

1; dug at our old camp, to return there and d

'^ This we did, and obtained a sufficiency at

We were enabled to keep the camp here for
days, while Mr. Tietkens and I tried to find a
\ northerly route to the west. Leaving Gibsor

^' ^ Jimmy behind, we took three horses and st

away for the north. Our route on this trip \i
into the most miserable country, dry ridges
spinifex, sandhills and scrubs, which rolled alo
undulations of several miles apart. We coul
no water, and camped after a day s journey of
miles.

Though the day had been very hot, the
became suddenly cool. In the morning of the
of October, at five miles we arrived at a sci
sand ridge, and obtained a most displeasing
of the country further north. The surface se
more depressed, but entirely filled up with i
scrubs, with another ridge similar to the on
were on bounding the view ; we reached
about eight miles. The view we then got
precisely similar to that behind us, except

A WELCOME SPOT. 217

the next undulation that bounded the horizon was
fifteen to eighteen miles away. We had now come
fifty-one miles from the Shoeing Camp ; there was
no probability of getting water in such a region. To
the west the horizon was bounded by what appeared
a perfectly flat and level line running northwards.
This flat line to the west seemed not more than
twenty-five to thirty miles away; between us and
it were a few low stony hills. Not liking the
northern, I now decided to push over to the western
horizon, which looked so flat. I have said there
were some stony hills in that direction ; we reached
the first in twenty miles. The next was formed of
nearly bare rock, where there were some old native
gunyahs. Searching about we found another of
those extraordinary basins, holes, or cups washed
out of the solid rock by ancient ocean's force, ages
before an all-seeing Providence placed His dusky
children upon this scene, or even before the waters
had sufficiently subsided to permit either animal or
man to exist here. From this singular cup we
oljtained a sufficient supply of that fluid so terribly
scarce in this region. We had to fill a canvas
bucket with a pint pot to water our horses, and we
outspanned for the remainder of the day at this
exceedingly welcome spot. There were a few
hundred acres of excellent grass land, and the
horses did remarkably well during the night. The
day had been very hot; the thermometer in the
shade at this rock stood at 106°.

This proved a most abominable camp ; it swarmed
with ants, and they kept biting us so continually,
that we were in a state of perpetual motion nearly all
the time we were there. A few heat-drops of rain

2i8 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

fell. I was not sorry to leave the wretched place,
which we left as dry as the surrounding void. We
continued our west course over sandhills and
through scrub and spinifex. The low ridges of
which the western horizon was formed, and which
had formerly looked perfectly flat, was reached in
five miles ; no other view could be got. A mile
off was a slightly higher point, to which we went ;
then the horizon, both north and west of the same
nature, ran on as far as could be seen, without any
other object upon which to rest the eye. There
were a few litde gullies about, which we wasted an
hour amongst in a fruitless search for water. The
Bitter Water Creek now lay south of us ; I was
not at all satisfied at our retreat from it. I was
anxious to find out where it went, for though we
had spent several days in its neighbourhood, we
had not travelled more than eight or ten miles
down it ; we might still get a bucket or two of
water for our three horses where I had killed the
little cob. We therefore turned south in hopes
that we might get some satisfaction out of that
region at last. We were now, however, thirty-nine or
forty miles from the water-place, and two more from
the Cob. I was most anxious on account of the
water at the Shoeing Camp ; it might have become
quite exhausted by this time, and where on earth
would Gibson and Jimmy go 'i The thermometer
again to-day stood at 106° in the shade.

It was late at night when we reached the Cob
tank, and all the water that had accumulated since
we left was scarcely a bucketful.

Though the sky was quite overcast, and rain
threatened to fall nearly all night, yet none

A MISERABLE REGION. 219

whatever came. The three horses were huddled
up round the perfectly empty tank, having probably
stood there all night. I determined to try down
the creek. One or two small branches enlarged
the channel, and in six or seven miles we saw an
old native well, which we scratched out with our
hands ; but it was perfectly dry. At twelve miles
another creek joined from some hills easterly, and
immediately below the junction the bed was filled
with green rushes. The shovel was at the Shoeing
Camp, the bed was too stony to be dug into with
our hands. Below this again another and larger
creek joined from the east, or rather our creek ran
into it. There were some large holes in the new
bed, but all were dry. We now followed up this
new channel eastwards, as our horses were very
bad, and this was in the direction of the home
camp. We searched everywhere, up in hills and
gullies, and down into the creek again, but all
without success, and we had a waterless camp once
more. The horses were now terribly bad, they
have had only the third of a bucket of water since
Wednesday, it being now Friday morning. We
had still thirty miles to go to reach the camp, and
it was late when the poor unfortunate creatures
dragged themselves into it. Fortunately the day
had been remarkably cool, almost cold, the ther-
mometer only rose to 80° in the shade. The water
had held out well, and it still drained into the
tank.

On the following morning, the 1st November,
the thermometer actually descended to 32°, though
of course there was neither frost nor ice, because
there was nothing fluid or moist to freeze. I do

2 20 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

not remember ever feeling such a sensatior
intense cold. The day was delightfully cool ; I
most anxious to find out if any water could be
at the junction of the two creeks just left.
Tietkens and Gibson took three fresh horses,
the shovel, on Monday, the 3rd of November,
started out there again.

Remaining at the camp was simple agony,
ants were so numerous and annoying ; a sti
wind was blowing from the eastwards, and the c;
was in a continual cloud of sand and dust.

The next day was again windy and dusty,
not quite so hot as yesterday. Jimmy and I
the two dogs were at the camp. He had a h
of biting the dogs' noses, and it was only when t
squealed that I saw what he was doing ; to-
Cocky was the victim. I said, ** What the d<
do you want to be biting the dogs nose for,
might seriously injure his nasal organ ? " **Horj
said Jimmy, *'do you call his nose a horgin ? '
said, ** Yes, any part of the body of man or an
is called an organ." ** Well," he said, ** I n<
knew that dogs carried horgins about with t
before." I said, ** Well, they do, and don't yoi
biting any of them again." Jimmy of course,
reader can see, was a queer young fellow. On
occasion further back, a good many crows 1
about, and they became the subject of discusi
I remarked, '* I've travelled about in the bus!
much as most people, and I never yet saw a 1
crow that couldn't fly;" then Jimmy said, ** V
when we was at the Birthday, didn't I brir
little crow hin a hague hin ? " I said, ** What's
a hague hin ? " To which he replied, ** I didn't

A THIRD ATTEMPT TO THE WEST. 221

'' hin a Jiague kin,'' I says ''Hand her hague kin**
After this, whenever we went hunting for water, and
found it, if there was a sufficient quantity for us we
always said, ** Oh, there's enough to boil a hague in
anyhow." Late in the evening of the n^xt day,
Jimmy and I were watching at the tank for
pigeons, when the three horses Mr. Tietkens took
away came up to drink ; this of course informed
me they had returned. The horses looked fearfully
hollow, and I could see at a glance that they could
not possibly have had any water since they left.
Mr. Tietkens reported that no water was to be got
anywhere, and the country to the west appeared
entirely waterless.

I was, however, determined to make one more
attempt. Packing two horses with water, I intended
to carry it out to the creek, which is forty miles
from here. At that point I would water one horse,
hang the remainder of the water in a tree, and
follow the creek channel to see what became of it.
I took Gibson and Jimmy, Mr. Tietkens remaining
at the camp. On arriving at the junction of the
larger creek, we followed down the channel and in
five miles, to my great surprise, though the
traveller in these regions should be surprised at
nothing, we completely ran the creek out, as it
simply ended among triodia, sandhills, and scrubby
mulga flats. I was greatly disappointed at this
turn of affairs, as I had thought from its size it
would at least have led me to some water, and to
the discovery of some new geographical features.
Except where we struck it, the country had all been
burnt, and we had to return to that spot to get
grass to camp at. Water existed only in the bags

222 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

which we carried with us. I gave the horse I
intend riding to-morrow a couple of buckets of
water. I suppose he would have drank a dozen —
the others got none. The three of us encamped
together here.

WESTWARD AND ALONE. 223

CHAPTER V.

FROM 9TH NOVEMBER TO 23RD DECEMBER, 1 873.

Alone — Native signs — A stinking pit — Ninety miles from water —
Elder's Creek — Hughes's Creek — The Colonel's range —
Rampart-like range — Hills to the north-east — Jamieson's
range — Return to Fort Mueller — Rain — Start for the Shoeing
Camp once more — Lightning Rock — Nothing like leather —
Pharaoh's inflictions — Photophobists — Hot weather — Fever
and philosophy — Tietkens's tank — Gibson taken ill — Mys-
terious disappearance of water — Elarthquake shock — Con-
cussions and falling rocks — The glen — Cut an approach to
the water — Another earthquake shock — A bough-house —
Gardens — A journey northwards — Pine-clad hills — New line
of ranges — Return to depot

The following day was Sunday, the 9th of No-
vember, but was not a day of rest to any of us.
Gibson and Jimmy started back with the pack-
horses for the Shoeing Camp, while I intended going
westward, westward, and alone ! I gave my horse
another drink, and fixed a water-bag, containing
about eight gallons, in a leather envelope up in a
tree ; and started away like errant knight on sad
adventure bound, though unattended by any esquire
or shield-bearer. I rode away west, over open
triodia sandhills, with occasional dots of scrub
between, for twenty miles. The horizon to the
west was bounded by open, undulating rises of no
elevation, but whether of sand or stone I could not
determine. At this distance from the creek the

2 24 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

sandhills mainly fell off, and the country was
composed of ground thickly clothed with spinifex
and covered all over with brown gravel. I gave
my horse an hour s rest here, with the thermometer
at 102° in the shade. There was no grass, and not
being possessed of organs that could digest triodia
he simply rested. On starting again, the hills I had
left now almost entirely disappeared, and looked
flattened out to a long low line. I travelled over
many miles of burnt, stony, brown, gravelly un-
dulations ; at every four or five miles I obtained a
view of similar country beyond ; at thirty-five miles
from the creek the country all round me was
exactly alike, but here, on passing a rise that
seemed a little more solid than the others,
I noticed in a kind of little valley some signs of
recent native encampments ; and the feathers of
birds strewn about — there were hawks', pigeons',
and cockatoos' feathers. I rode towards them, and
right under my horse's feet I saw a most singular
hole in the ground. Dismounting, I found it was
another of those extraordinary cups from whence
the natives obtain water. This one was entirely
filled up with boughs, and I had great difficulty in
dragging them out, when I perceived that this
orifice was of some depth and contained some
water ; but on reaching up a drop, with the greatest
difficulty, in my hand, I found it was quite putrid ;
indeed, while taking out the boughs my nasal
horgin, as Jimmy would call it, gave me the same
information.

I found the hole was choked up with rotten
leaves, dead animals, birds, and all imaginable sorts
of filth. On poking a stick down into it, seething

A LONELY CAMP. 225

bubbles aerated through the putrid mass, and yet
the natives had evidently been living upon this fluid
for some time ; some of the fires in their camp were
yet alight. I had very great difficulty in reaching
down to bale any of this fluid into my canvas bucket.
My horse seemed anxious to drink, but one bucket-
ful was all he could manage. There was not more
than five or six buckets of water in this hole ; it
made me quite sick to get the bucketful for the
horse. There were a few hundred acres of silver
grass in the little valley near, and as my horse
began to feed with an apparent relish, I remained
here, though I anticipated at any moment seeing a
number of natives make their appearance. I said
to myself, ** Come one, come all, this rock shall fly
from its firm base as soon as I." No enemies came,
and I passed the night with my horse feeding
quietly close to where I lay. To this I attributed
my safety.

Long before sunrise I was away from this dismal
place, not giving my horse any more of the dis-
gusting water. In a mile or two I came to the top
of one of those undulations which at various dis-
tances bound the horizon. They are but swells a
little higher than the rest of the country. How far
this formation would extend was the question, and
what other feature that lay beyond, at which water
could be obtained, was a difficult problem to solve.
From its appearance I was compelled to suppose
that it would remain unaltered for a very consider-
able distance. From this rise all I could see was
another ; this I reached in nine miles. Nearly
all the country hereabout had been burnt, but not
very recently. The ground was still covered with

VOL. I. Q

2 26 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

gravel, with here and there small patches of scrub,
the country in general being very good for travelling.
I felt sure it would be necessary to travel 1 50 miles
at least before a watered spot could be found.
How ardently I wished for a camel ; for what is
a horse where waters do not exist except at great
distances apart ? I pushed on to the next rising
ground, ten miles, being nearly twenty from where
I had camped. The view from here was precisely
similar to the former ones. My horse had not
travelled well this morning, he seemed to possess
but little pluck. Although he was fat yesterday, he
is literally poor now. This horse s name was Pratt ;
he was a poor weak creature, and died subsequently
from thirst. I am afraid the putrid water has made
him ill, for I have had great difficulty in getting him
to go. I turned him out here for an hour at eleven
o'clock, when the thermometer indicated 102° in the
shade. The horse simply stood in the shade of a
small belt of mulga, but he would not try to eat.
To the south about a mile there was apparently a
more solid rise, and I walked over to it, but there
was no cup either to cheer or inebriate. I was now
over fifty miles from my water-bag, which was
hanging in a tree at the mercy of the winds and
waves, not to mention its removal by natives, and if
I lost that I should probably lose my life as well.
I was now ninety miles from the Shoeing Camp, and
unless I was prepared to go on for another hundred
miles ; ten, fifteen, twenty, or fifty would be of little
or no use. It was as much as my horse would do
to get back alive. From this point I returned.
The animal went so slowly that it was dusk when
I got back to the Cup, where I observed, by the

RETURN TO THE PIT. as?

removal of several boughs, that natives had been
here in my absence. They had put a lot of boughs
back into the hole again. I had no doubt they
were close to me now, and felt sure they were
watching me and my movements with lynx-like
glances from their dark metallic eyes. I looked
upon my miserable wretch of a horse as a safe-
guard from them. He would not eat, but imme-
diately hobbled off to the pit. and I was afraid he

would jump in before I could stop him, he was so
eager for drink. It was an exceedingly difficult
operation to get water out of this abominable hole,
as the bucket could not be dipped into it, nor could
I reach the frightful fluid at ^1 without hanging my
head down, with my legs stretched across the mouth
of it, while I baled the foetid mixture into the

Q 2

228 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

bucket with one of my boots, as I had no other
utensil. What with the position I was in and the
horrible odour which rose from the seething fluid,
I was seized with violent retching. The horse
gulped down the first half of the bucket with
avidity, but after that he would only sip at it, and I
was glad enough to find that the one bucketful I
had baled out of the pit was sufficient. I don't
think any consideration would have induced me to
bale out another.

Having had but little sleep, I rode away at three
o'clock next morning. The horse looked wretched
and went worse. It was past midday when I had
gone twenty miles, when, entering sandhill country,
I was afraid he would knock up altogether. After
an hour and a halfs rest he seemed better; he
walked away almost briskly, and we reached the
water-bag much earlier than I expected. Here we
both had a good drink, although he would have
emptied the bag three times over if he could have
got it. The day had been hot.

When I left this singular watercourse, where
plenty of water existed in its upper portions, but
was either too bitter or too salt for use, I named it
Elder's Creek. The other that joins it I called
Hughes's Creek, and the range in which they exist
the Colonel's Range.

There was not much water left for the horse.
He was standing close to the bag for some hours
before daylight. He drank it up and away we
went, having forty miles to go. I arrived very late.
Everything was well except the water supply, and
that was gradually ceasing. In a week there will
be none. The day had been pleasant and cool.

RETREAT TO FORT MUELLER. 229

Several more days were spent here, re-dlgging
and enlarging the old tank and trying to find a new.
Gibson and I went to some hills to the south, with
a rampart-like face. The place swarmed with
pigeons, but we could find no water. We could
hear the birds crooning and cooing in all directions
as we rode, ** like the moan of doves in immemorial
elms, and the murmurings of innumerable bees."
This rampart-like ridge was festooned with cypress
pines, and had there been water there, I should have
thought it a very pretty place. Every day was
telling upon the water at the camp. We had to
return unsuccessful, having found none. The horses
were loose, and rambled about in several mobs
and all directions, and at night we could not get
them all together. The water was now so low
that, growl as we may, go we must. It was five
P.M. on the 17th of November when we left. The
nearest water now to us that I knew of was at Fort
Mueller, but I decided to return to it by a different
route from that we had arrived on, and as some hills
lay north-easterly, and some were pretty high, we
went away in that direction.

We travelled through the usual poor country,
and crossed several dry water-channels. In one
I thought to get a drink for the horses. The
party having gone on, I overtook them and sent
Gibson back with the shovel. We brought the
horses back to the place, but he gave a very gloomy
opinion of it. The supply was so poor that, after
working and watching the horses all night, they
could only get a bucketful each by morning, and I
was much vexed at having wasted time and energy
in such a wretched spot, which we left in huge

230 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

disgust, and continued on our course. Very poor
regions were traversed, every likely-looking spot
was searched for water. I had been steering for a
big hill from the Shoeing Camp ; a dry creek issued
from its slopes. Here the hills ceased in this
northerly direction, only to the east and south-east
could ranges be seen, and it is only in them that
water can be expected in this region. Fort Mueller
was nearly fifty miles away, on a bearing of 30°
south of east. We now turned towards it. A
detached, jagged, and inviting-looking range lay a
little to the east of north-east ; it appeared similar
to the Fort Mueller hills. I called it Jamieson's*
Range, but did not visit it. Half the day was lost
in useless searching for water, and we encamped
without any; thermometer 104° at ten a.m. At
night we camped on an open piece of spinifex
country. We had thunder and lightning, and about
six heat-drops of rain fell.

The next day we proceeded on our course for
Fort Mueller ; at twelve miles we had a shower of
rain, with thunder and lightning, that lasted a few
seconds only. We were at a bare rock, and had
the rain lasted with the same force for only a minute,
we could have given our horses a drink upon the
spot, but as it was we got none. The horses
ran all about licking the rock with their parched
tongues.

Late at night we reached our old encampment,
where we had got water in the sandy bed of the
creek. It was now no longer here, and we had to
go further up. I went on ahead to look for a spot,
and returning, met the horses in hobbles going up
the creek, some right in the bed. 1 intended to

SUDDEN FALL OF THE THERMOMETER. 231

have dug a tank for them, but the others let them
go too soon. I consoled myself by thinking that
they had only to go far enough, and they would get
water on the surface. With the exception of the
one bucket each, this was their fourth night without
water. The sky was now as black as pitch ; it
thundered and lightened, and there was every
appearance of a fall of rain, but only a light mist or
heavy dew fell for an hour or two ; it was so light
and the temperature so hot that we all lay without
a rag on till morning.

At earliest dawn Mr. Tietkens and I took the
shovel and walked to where we heard the horse-
bells. Twelve of the poor animals were lying in
the bed of the creek, with limbs stretched out as if
dead, but we were truly glad to find they were still
alive, though some of them could not get up. Some
that were standing up were working away with
their hobbled feet the best way they could, stamp-
ing out the sand trying to dig out little tanks, and
one old stager had actually reached the water in his
tank, so we drove him away and dug out a proper
place. We got all the horses watered by nine
o'clock. It was four a.m. when we began to dig, and
our exercise gave us an excellent appetite for our
breakfast. Gibson built a small bough gunyah,
under which we sat, with the thermometer at 102°.

In the afternoon the sky became overcast, and at
six P.M. rain actually began to fall heavily, but only
for a quarter of an hour, though it continued to drip
for two or three hours. During and after that we
had heavy thunder and most vivid lightnings. The
thermometer at nine fell to 48^ ; in the sun to-day it
had been 176"^, the difference being 128^ in a few

232 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

hours, and we thought we should be frozen stiff
where we stood. A slight trickle of surface water
came down the creek channel. The rain seemed to
have come from the west, and I resolved to push
out there again and see. This was Friday ; a day's
rest was actually required by the horses, and the
following day being Sundky, we yet remained.

Monday, 24th November. — We had thunder,
lightnings, and sprinklings of rain again during last
night. We made another departure for the Shoeing
Camp and Elder's Creek. At the bare rock pre-
viously mentioned, which was sixteen miles en route
30° north of west, we found the rain had left suffi-
cient water for us, and we camped. The native well
was full, and water also lay upon the rock. The
place now seemed exceedingly pretty, totally diffe-
rent from its original appearance, when we could
get no water at it. How wonderful is the difference
the all-important element creates ! While we were
here another thunderstorm came up from the west
and refilled all the basins, which the horses had
considerably reduced. I called this the Lightning
Rock, as on both our visits the lightning played so
vividly around us. Just as we were starting, more
thunder and lightnings and five minutes* rain came.

From here I steered to the one-bucket tank, and
at one place actually saw water lying upon the
ground, which was a most extraordinary circum-
stance. I was in great hopes the country to the
west had been well visited by the rains. The country
to-day was all dense scrubs, in which we saw a Mus
conditor*s nest. When in these scrubs I always
ride in advance with a horse s bell fixed on my
stirrup, so that those behind, although they cannot

NOTHING LIKE LEATHER. 233

see, may yet hear which way to come. Continually
working this bell has almost deprived me of the
•faculty of hearing; the constant passage of the
horses through these direful scrubs has worn out
more canvas bags than ever entered into my calcu-
lations. Every night after travelling, some, if not
all the bags, are sure to be ripped, causing the
frequent loss of flour and various small articles that
get jerked out. This has gone on to such an
extent that every ounce of twine has been used up ;
the only supply we can now get is by unravelling
some canvas. Ourselves and our clothes, as well
as our pack-bags, get continually torn also. Any
one in future traversing these regions must be
equipped entirely in leather ; there must be leather
shirts and leather trousers, leather hats, leather
heads, and leather hearts, for nothing else can stand
in a region such as this.

We continued on our course for the one-bucket
place ; but searching some others of better appear-
ance, I was surprised to find that not a drop of rain
had fallen, and I began to feel alarmed that the
Shoeing Camp should also have been unvisited.
One of the horses was unwell, and concealed him-
self in the scrubs ; some time was lost in recovering
him. As it was dark and too late to go on farther,
we had to encamp without water, nor was there
any grass.

The following day we arrived at the old camp, at
which there had been some little rain. The horses
were choking, and rushed up the gully like mad ;
we had to drive them into a little yard we had
made when here previously, as a whole lot of them
treading into the tank at once might ruin it for

234 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

ever. The horse that hid himself yesterday
knocked up to-day, and Gibson remained to bring
him on ; he came four hours after us, though we
only left him three miles away. There was not
sufficient water in the tank for all the horses ; I
was greatly grieved to find that so little could
be got.

The camp ground had now become simply a
moving mass of ants ; they were bad enough when
we left, but now they were frightful ; they swarmed
over everything, and bit us to the verge of madness.
It is eleven days since we left this place, and now
having returned, it seems highly probable that I
shall soon be compelled to retreat again. Last night
the ants were unbearable to Mr. Tietkens and my-
self, but Gibson and Jimmy do not appear to lose
any sleep on their account. With the aid of a quart
pot and a tin dish I managed to get some sort of a
bath ; but this is a luxury the traveller in these
regions must in a great measure learn to do without.
My garments and person were so perfumed with
smashed ants, that I could almost believe I had
been bathing in a vinegar cask. It was useless to
start away from here with all the horses, without
knowing how, or if any, rains had fallen out west.
I therefore despatched Mr. Tietkens and Jimmy to
take a tour round to all our former places. At twenty-
five miles was the almost bare rocky hill which I
called par excellence the Cups, from the number
of those little stone indentures upon its surface,
which I first saw on the 19th of October, this being
the 29th of November. If no water was there, I
directed Mr. Tietkens then only to visit Elders
Creek and return ; for if there was none at the

NO RAINS WEST, 235

Cups, there would be but little likelihood of any in
other places.

Gibson and I had a most miserable day at the
camp. The ants were dreadful ; the hot winds
blew clouds of sandy dust all through and over the
place ; the thermometer was at 102°. We repaired
several pack-bags. A few mosquitoes for variety
paid us persistent attentions during the early part
of the night ; but their stings and bites were
delightful pleasures compared to the agonies in-
flicted on us by the myriads of small black ants.
Another hot wind and sand-dust day ; still sewing
and repairing pack-bags to get them into something
like order and usefulness.

At one P.M. Mr. Tietkens returned from the west,
and reported that the whole country in that
direction had been entirely unvisited by rains, with
the exception of the Cups, and there, out of several
dozen rocky indents, barely sufficient water for their
three horses could be got. Elder s Creek, the Cob
tank, the Colonel's Range, Hughes's Creek, and all
the ranges lying between here and there, the way
they returned, were perfectly dry, not a drop of
moisture having fallen in all that region. Will it
evermore be thus ? Jupiter impluvius ? Thermo-
meter to-day 106° in shade. The water supply is
so rapidly decreasing that in two days it will be
gone. This is certainly not a delightful position to
hold, indeed it is one of the most horrible of
imaginable encampments. The small water supply
is distant about a mile from the camp, and we have
to carry it down in kegs on a horse, and often when
we go for it, we find the horses have just emptied
and dirtied the tank. We are eaten alive by flies,

236 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

ants, and mosquitoes, and our existence here cannot
be deemed a happy one. Whatever could have
obfuscated the brains of Moses, when he omitted to
inflict Pharaoh with such exquiste torturers as ants,
I cannot imagine. In a fiery region like to this I
am photophobist enough to think I could wallow at
ease, in blissful repose, in darkness, amongst cool
and watery frogs ; but ants, oh ants, are frightful !
Like Othello, I am perplexed in the extreme — rain
threatens every day, I don't like to go and I can't
stay. Over some hills Mr. Tietkens and I found an
old rocky native well, and worked for hours with
shovel and levers, to shift great boulders of rock,
and on the 4th of December we finally left the
deceitful Shoeing Camp — never, I hope, to return.
The new place was no better ; it was two and a half
miles away, in a wretched, scrubby, rocky, dry hole,
and by moving some monstrous rocks, which left
holes where they formerly rested, some water
drained in, so that by night the horses were all
satisfied. There was a hot, tropical, sultry feeling in
the atmosphere all day, though it was not actually
so hot as most days lately ; some terrific lightnings
occurred here on the night of the 5th of December,
but we heard no thunder. On the 6th and 7th Mr.
Tietkens and I tried several places to the eastwards
for water, but without success. At three p.m. of the
7th, we had thunder and lightning, but no rain ;
thermometer 106°. On returning to camp, we were
told that the water was rapidly failing, it becoming
fine by degrees and beautifully less. At night the
heavens were illuminated for hours by the most
wonderful lightnings ; it was, I suppose, too distant
to permit the sound of thunder to be heard. On

ANOTHER RETREAT, 237

the 8th we made sure that rain would fall, the night
and morning were very hot. We had clouds,
thunder, lightning, thermometer 112°, and every
mortal disagreeable thing we wanted ; so how could
we expect rain ? but here, thanks to Mgses, or
Pharaoh, or Providence, or the rocks, we were not
troubled with ants. The next day we cleared out ;
the water was gone, so we went also. The ther-
mometer was 110° in the shade when we finally
left these miserable hills. We steered away again
for Fort Mueller, vi4 the Lightning Rock, which
was forty-five miles away. We traversed a country
nearly all scrub, passing some hills and searching
channels and gullies as we went. We only got
over twenty-one miles by night ; I had been very
unwell for the last three or four days, and to-day I
was almost too ill to sit on my horse ; I had fever,
pains all over, and a splitting headache. The
country being all scrub, I was compelled as usual to
ride with a bell on my stirrup. Jingle jangle all
day long ; what with heat, fever, and the pain I was
in, and the din of that infernal bell, I really thought
it no sin to wish myself out of this world, and into
a better, cooler, and less noisy one, where not
even —

" To heavenly harps the angelic choir.

Circling the throne of the eternal King ; "

should —

" With hallowed lips and holy fire.

Rejoice their hymns of praise to sing ; "

which revived in my mind vague opinions with
regard to our notions of heaven. If only to sit for
ever singing hymns before Jehovah's throne is to be
the future occupation of our souls, it is doubtful if

238 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

the thought should be so pleasing, as the opinions
of Plato and other philosophers, and which Addison
has rendered to us thus —

" Eternity, thou pleasing, dreadful thought,
Through what variety of untried being.
Through what new scenes and changes must we pass
The wide, the unbounded prospect lies before me," &c.

But I am trenching upon debatable ground, and
have no desire to enter an argument upon the
subject. It is doubtless better to believe the tenets
tauirht us in our childhood, than to seek at mature
aijc to unravel a mystery which it is self-evident
the Great Creator never intended that man in this
state of existence should become acquainted w^ith.
However, I'll say no more on such a subject, it is
quite foreign to the matter of my travels, and does
not ease my fever in any way— in fact it rather
auirments it.

The next morning, the loth, I was worse, and it
was agony to have to rise, let alone to ride. We
reached the Lightning Rock at three p.m., when the
thermometer indicated iio*^. The water was all
but gone from the native well, but a small quantity-
was obtained by digging. I was too ill to do
anything. A number of native fig-trees were grow-
ing on this rock, and while Gibson was using the
shovel, Mr. Tietkens went to get some for me, as
he thought they might do me good. It was most
fortunate that he went, for though he did not get
any figs, he found a fine rock water-hole which we
had not seen before, and where all the horses could
drink their fill. I was never more delighted in my
life. The thought of moving again to-morrow was

LOSS OF GIBSON'S DOG. 239

killing — indeed I had intended to remain, but this
enabled us all to do so. It was as much as I could
do to move even the mile, to where we shifted our
camp; thermometer 108°. By the next day, 12th,
the horses had considerably reduced the water, and
by to-morrow it will be gone. This basin would be
of some size were it cleaned out ; we could not tell
what depth it was, as it is now almost entirely filled
with the debris of ages. Its shape is elliptical, and
is thirty feet long by fifteen broad, its sides being
even more abrupt than perpendicular — that is to say,
shelving inwards — and the horses could only water
by jumping down at one place. There was about
three feet of water, the rest being all soil. To-
day was much cooler. I called this Tietkenss
Tank. On the 14th, the water was gone, the tank
dry, and all the horses away to the east, and it was
past three when they were brought back. Un-
fortunately, Gibson's little dog Toby followed him
out to-day and never returned. After we started I
sent Gibson back to await the poor pup s return,
but at night Gibson came without Toby ; I told
him he could have any horses he liked to go back
for him to-morrow, and I would have gone myself
only I was still too ill. During the night Gibson
was taken ill just as I had been ; therefore poor
Toby was never recovered. We have still one
little dog of mine which I bought in Adelaide, of
the same kind as Toby, that is to say, the small
black-and-tan English terrier, though I regret to
say he is decidedfy not, of the breed of that Billy
indeed, who used to kill rats for a bet ; I forget
how many one morning he ate, but you*ll find it in
sporting books yet. It was very late when* we

240 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

reached our old bough gunyah camp ; there was no
water. I intended going up farther, but, being
behind, Mr. Tietkens and Jimmy had began to
unload, and some of the horses were hobbled out
when I arrived ; Gibson was still behind. For the
second time I have been compelled to retreat to this
range ; shall I ever get away from it ? When we
left the rock, the thermometer indicated iio° in the
shade.

Next morning I was a little better, but Gibson
was very ill — indeed I thought he was going to die,
and would he had died quietly there. Mr. Tietkens
and I walked up the creek to look for the horses.
We found and took about half of them to the
surface water up in the narrow glen. When we
arrived, there was plenty of water running merrily
along the creek channel, and there were several
nice ponds full, but when we brought the second lot
to the place an hour and a half afterwards, the
stream had ceased to flow, and the nice ponds just
mentioned were all but empty and dry. This
completely staggered me to find the drainage cease
so suddenly. The day was very hot, i lo^ when we
returned to camp.

1 was in a state of bewilderment at the thought of
the water having so quickly disappeared, and I was
wondering where I should have to retreat to next,
as it appeared that in a day or two there would
literally be no water at all. I felt ill again from my
morning s walk, and lay dqwn in the 1 10° of shade,
afforded by the bough gunyah which Gibson had
formerly made.

I had scarcely settled myself on my rug when a
most pronounced shock of earthquake occurred.

EARTHQUAKE SHOCKS. 241

the volcanic wave, which caused a sound like
thunder, passing along from west to east right
under us, shook the ground and the gunyah so
violently as to make me jump up as though nothing
was th.e matter with me. As the wave passed on,
we heard up in the glen to the east of us great
concussions, and the sounds of smashing and falling
rocks hurled from their native eminences rumbling
and crashing into the glen below. The atmosphere
was very still to-day, and the sky clear except to
the deceitful west.

Gibson is still so ill that we did not move the
camp. I was in a great state of anxiety about the
water supply, and Tietkens and I walked first after
the horses, and then took them up to the glen,
where I was enchanted to behold the stream again
in full flow, and the sheets of surface water as large,
and as fine as when we first saw them yesterday.
I was puzzled at this singular circumstance, and
concluded that the earthquake had shaken the
foundations of the hills, and thus forced the water
up ; but from whatsoever cause it proceeded, I was
exceedingly glad to see it. To-day was much
cooler than yesterday. At three p.m., the same time
of day, we had another shock of earthquake similar
to that of yesterday, only that the volcanic wave
passed along a little northerly of the camp, and the
sounds of breaking and falling rocks came from over
the hills to the north-east of us.

Gibson was better on the 17th, and we moved
the camp up into the glen where the surface water
existed. We pitched our encampment upon a
small piece of rising ground, where there was a fine
little pool of water in the creek bed, partly formed

VOL. I. R

242 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

of rocks, over which the purling streamlet fell, form-
ing a most agreeable little basin for a bath.

The day was comparatively cool, ioo°. The glen
here is almost entirely choked up with tea-trees,
and we had to cut great quantities of wood away so
as to approach the water easily. The tea-tree is
the only timber here for firewood ; many trees are
of some size, being seven or eight inches through,
but mostly very crooked and gnarled. The green
wood appears to burn almost as well as the dead,
and forms good ash for baking dampers. Again
to-day we had our usual shock of earthquake and at
the usual time. Next day at three p.m., earthquake,
quivering hills, broken and toppling rocks, with
scared and agitated rock wallabies. This seemed
a very ticklish, if not extremely dangerous place for
a depot. Rocks overhung and frowned down upon
us in every direction ; a very few of these let loose
by an earthquake would soon put a period to any
further explorations on our part. We passed a great
portion of to-day (i8th) in erecting a fine" large
bough-house ; they are so much cooler than tents.
We also cleared several patches of rich brown soil,
and made little Gardens (de Plantes), putting in all
sorts of garden and other seeds. I have now
discovered that towards afternoon, when the heat
is greatest the flow of water ceases in the creek
daily ; but at night, during the morning hours and
up to about midday, the little stream flows murmur-
ing on over the stones and through the sand as
merrily as one can wish. Fort Mueller cannot be
said to be a pretty spot, for it is so confined by the
frowning, battlemented, fortress-like walls of black
and broken hills, that there is scarcely room to turn

A TOUR TO THE NORTH. 243

round in it, and attacks by the natives are much to
be dreaded here.

We have had to clear the ground round our fort
of the stones and huge bunches of triodia which we
found there. The slopes of the hills are also thickly
clothed with this dreadful grass. The horses feed
some three or four miles away on the fine open
grassy country which, as I mentioned before, sur-
rounds this range. The herbage being so excellent
here, the horses got so fresh, we had to build a yard
with the tea-tree timber to run them in when we
wanted to catch any. I still hope rain will fall, and
lodge at Elder's Creek, a hundred miles to the west,
so as to enable me to push out westward again.
Nearly every day the sky is overcast, and rain
threatens to fall, especially towards the north, where
a number of unconnected ridges or low ranges lie.
Mr. Tietkens and I prepared to start northerly
to-morrow, the 20th, to inspect them.

We got out in that direction about twenty miles,
passed near a hill I named Mount Scott,* and
found a small creek, but no water. The country
appeared to have been totally unvisited by rains.

We carried some water in a keg for ourselves, but
the horses got none. The country passed over to-
day was mostly red sandhills, recently burnt, and
on that account free from spinifex. We travelled
about north, 40° east. We next steered away for a
dark-looking, bluff-ending hill, nearly north-north-
east Before arriving at it we searched among a
lot of pine-clad hills for water without effect,
reaching the hill in twenty-two miles. Resting our
horses, we ascended the hill ; from it I discovered,
with glasses, that to the north and round easterly

R 2

244 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

and westerly a number of ranges lay at a ver>'
considerable distance. The nearest, which lay north,
was evidently sixty or seventy miles off. These
ranges appeared to be of some length, but were not
sufficiently raised above the ocean of scrubs, which
occupied the intervening spaces, and rose into high
and higher undulations, to allow me to form an
opinion with regard to their altitude. Those east
of north appeared higher and farther away, and
were bolder and more pointed in outline. None of
them were seen with the naked eye at first, but,
when once seen with the field-glasses, the mind's
eye would always represent them to us, floating and
faintly waving apparently skywards in their vague
and distant mirage. This discovery instantly created
a burning desire in both of us to be off and reach
them ; but there were one or two preliminary'
determinations to be considered before starting.
We are now nearly fifty miles from Fort Mueller,
and the horses have been all one day, all one night,
and half to-day without water. There might cer-
tainly be water at the new ranges, but then again
there might not, and although they were at least
sixty miles off, our horses might easily reach them.
If, however, no water were found, they and perhaps
we could never return. My reader must not con-
found a hundred miles' walk in this region with the
same distance in any other. The greatest walker
that ever stepped would find more than his match
here. In the first place the feet sink in the loose
and sandy soil, in the second it is densely covered
with the hideous porcupine ; to avoid the constant
prickings from this the walker is compelled to raise
his feet to an unnatural height ; and another hideous

RETURN TO DEPOT. 245

vegetation, which I call sage-bush, obstructs even
more, although it does not pain so much as the
irritans. Again, the ground being hot enough to
bum the soles off one's boots, with the thermometer
at something like 180° in the sun, and the choking
from thirst at every movement of the body, is
enough to make any one pause before he foolishly
gets himself into such a predicament. Discretion
in such a case is by far the better part of valour —
for valour wasted upon burning sands to no purpose
is like love's labour lost.

Close about in all directions, except north, were
broken masses of hills, and we decided to search
among them for a new point of departure. We
re-saddled our horses, and searched those nearest,
that is to say easterly ; but no water was found, nor
any place that could hold it for an hour after it
fell from the sky. Then we went north-west, to a
bare-looking hill, and others with pines ornamenting
their tops ; but after travelling and searching all
day, and the horses doing forty-six miles, we had to
camp again without water.

In the night the thermometer went down to 62°.
I was so cold that I had to light a fire to lie down by*
All this day was uselessly lost in various traverses
and searchings without reward ; and after travelling
forty-two miles, the unfortunate horses had to go
again for the third night without water. We were,
however, nearing the depot again, and reached it,
in sixteen miles, early the next morning. Thankful
enough we were to have plenty of water to drink, a
bath, and change of clothes.

246 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

CHAPTER VI.

FROM 2 3RD DECEMBER, 1873 TO i6tH JANUARY, 1874.

Primitive laundry — Natives troublesome in our absence — The
ives — Gibson's estimate of a straight heel — Christmas day,
1873 — Attacked by natives — A wild caroo — Wild grapes
from a sandal-wood tree — More earthquakes — The moon
on the waters — Another journey northwards — Retreat to
the depot — More rain at the depot — Jimm/s escape — A
" canis familiaris " — An innocent lamb — Sage-bush scrubs —
Groves of oak-trees — Beautiful green flat — Crab-hole water
— Bold and abrupt range — A glittering cascade — Invisibly
bright water — The murmur in the shell — A shower bath —
The Alice Falls — Ascend to the summit — A strange view —
Gratified at our discoveries — Return to Fort Mueller —
Digging with a tomahawk — Storing water — Wallaby for
supper — Another attack — Gibson's gardens — Opossums
destructive — Birds — Thoughts — Physical peculiarities of the
region — Haunted — Depart.

The way we wash our clothes is primitive — it can
only be done at a depot. When we have sufficient
water, we simply put them into it, and leave them
until we want to change again, and then do the
same with those we take off; sometimes they
sweeten for several days, oftener much less. It is
an inexpensive method, which, however, I suppose
I must not claim as an invention. On the 23rd,
when we arrived, Gibson informed us that the
natives had been exceedingly troublesome, and had
thrown several spears and stones down from the

A CHRISTMAS DINNER. 247

rocks above, so that he and Jimmy had had to
defend themselves with firearms. Our bough-house
was a great protection to them, and it appeared also
that these wretches had hunted all the horses away
from their feeding ground, and they had not been
seen for three days, and not having come up to
water all the time we were away. At four p.m. we
had our afternoon earthquake, and Gibson said the
shock had occurred twice during our absence.
The hostility of the natives was very annoying in
more senses than one, as it would delay me in
carrying out my desire to visit the new and distant
ranges north. Christmas had been slightly antici-
pated by Gibson, who said he had made and cooked
a Christmas pudding, and that it was now ready
for the table. We therefore had it for dinner, and
did ample justice to Gibson's cookery. They had
also shot several rock-wallabies, which abound here.
They are capital eating, especially when fried ; then
they have a great resemblance to mutton.

Gibson and Jimmy did not agree very well ;
Jimmy always had some tale of woe to pour into
my ear whenever I returned from an outside trip.
He was a very clean young fellow, but Gibson
would never wash himself; and once when Jimmy
made some remark about it, Gibson said to me, *' I
can't think what you and Tietkens and Jimmy are
always washing yourselves for." ** Why," I said,
**for health and cleanliness, to be sure." *'0h,"
said he, **if I was to bathe like you do, it would
give me the ivesJ' I often showed the others how
to mend their boots. One day, sitting in the shade
of our bough-house, we were engaged in cobbling.
Gibson used to tread so unevenly on his boots that

248 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

the heels were turned nearly upwards, and he
walked more on the uppers than on the soles,
therefore his required all the more repairing.
Picking up one of my boots that I had just mended,
Gibson looked very hard at it, and at last said,
"How do you manage to wear your boots so
straight ? " ** Oh," I said, ** perhaps my legs are
straight." He rejoined, ** Well, ain't mine straight
too ? " I said, ** I don't know ; I don't see them
often enough to tell," alluding to his not bathing.
** Well," he said at last, with a deep sigh, ** By
G — " — gum, I suppose he meant — "I'd give a
pound to be able to wear my boots as straight as
you. No, I'm damned if I wouldn't give five-and-
twenty bob ! " We laughed. We had some rolls
of smoked beef, which caused the ants to come
about the camp, and we had to erect a little table
with legs in the water, to lay these on. One roll
had a slightly musty smell, and Gibson said to me,
** This roll's rotten ; shall I chuck it away ? "
" Chuck it away," I said ; " why, man, you must
be cranky to talk such rubbish as throwing away
food in such a region as this ! " " Why," said he,
" nobody won't eat it." " No," said I, " but some-
body will eat it ; I for one, and enjoy it too."
Whereupon he looked up at me, and said, " Oh,
are you one of them as likes yer meat 'igh ? " I
was annoyed at his stupendous stupidity, and said,
" One of them ! Who are you talking about ? Who
are they I'd like to know ? When we boil this
meat, if we put a piece of charcoal in the pot, it
will come out as sweet as a nut." He merely
replied, with a dubious expression of face,
'* Oh ! " but he ate his share of it as readily as

STATE OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 249

anybody else. The next day, Christmas eve, I sent
Mr. Tietkens and Gibson on two of the horses we
had lately brought back, to find the mob, which
they brought home late, and said the tracks of the
natives showed that they had driven the horses
away for several miles, and they had found them
near a small creek, along the south face of the
range, where there was water. While they were
away some ducks visited the camp, but the tea-tree
was too thick to allow us to shoot any of them.
The day was cool, although there is a great oppres-
sion in the atmosphere, and it is impossible to tell
by one s feelings what might be the range of the
thermometer, as I have often felt it hotter on some
days with the thermometer at 96° or 98^, than when
it ranged up to 108^ or 110°. The afternoons are
excessively relaxing, for although the mercury falls
a little after three o'clock, still the morning s heat
appears to remain until the sun has actually set.
It is more than probable that the horses having
been hunted by the natives, and having found more
water, will not come back here of their own accord
to water any more ; so I shall keep one tied up
at the camp, to fetch the others up with every
morning.

And now comes Thursday, 25 th December,
Christmas Day, 1873. Ah, how the time flies!
Years following years, steal something every day ;
at last they steal us from ourselves away. What
Horace says is, Eheu fugaces, anni labuntur
postume, postume : — Years glide away, and are lost
to me, lost to me.

While Jimmy Andrews was away after the others,
upon the horse that was tied up all night, we were

2 50 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

startled out of our propriety by the howls and yells
of a pack of fiends in human form and aboriginal
appearance, who had clambered up the rocks just
above our camp. I could only see some ten or a
dozen in the front, but scores more were dodging
in and out among the rocks. The more prominent
throng were led by an ancient individual, who,
having fitted a spear, was just in the act of
throwing it down amongst us, when Gibson seized
a rifle, and presented him with a conical Christmas
box, which smote the rocks with such force, and
in such near proximity to his hinder parts, that in
a great measure it checked his fiery ardour, and
induced most of his more timorous following to climb
with most perturbed activity over the rocks. The
ancient more slowly followed, and then from behind
the fastness of his rocky shield, he spoke spears and
boomerangs to us, though he used none. He, how-
ever, poured out the vials of his wrath upon us, as
he probably thought to some purpose. I was not
linguist enough to be able to translate all he said ;
but I am sure my free interpretation of the gist of
his remarks is correct, for he undoubtedly stigma-
tised us as a vile and useless set of lazy, crawling,
white-faced wretches, who came sitting on hideous
brutes of hippogryphs, being too lazy to walk like
black men, and took upon ourselves the right to
occupy any country or waters we might chance to
find ; that we killed and ate any wallabies and other
game we happened to see, thereby depriving him
and his friends of their natural, lawful food, and
that our conduct had so incensed himself and his
noble friends, who were now in the shelter of the
rocks near him, that he begged us to take warning

CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES. 251

that it was the unanimous determination of himself
and his noble friends to destroy such vermin as he
considered us, and our horses to be, and drive us
from the face of the earth.

It appeared to me, however, that his harangue
required punctuation, so I showed him the rifle
again, whereupon he incontinently indulged in a
full stop. The natives then retired from those
rocks, and commenced their attack by throwing
spears through the tea-tree from the opposite side of
the creek. Here we had the back of our gunyah
for a shield, and could poke the muzzles of our guns
and rifles through the interstices of the boughs.
We were compelled to discharge our pieces at them
to ensure our peace and safety.

Our last discharge drove away the enemy, and
soon after, Jimmy came with all the horses. Gibson
shot a wallaby, and we had fried chops for our
Christmas dinner. We drew from the medical
department a bottle of rum to celebrate Christmas
and victory. We had an excellent dinner (for
explorers), although we had eaten our Christmas
pudding two days before. We perhaps had no
occasion to envy any one their Christmas dinner,
although perhaps we did. Thermometer 106° in
the shade. On this occasion Mr. Tietkens, who
was almost a professional, sang us some songs in a
fine, deep, clear voice, and Gibson sang two or
three love songs, not altogether badly ; then it was
Jimmy's turn. He said he didn't know no love
songs, but he would give us Tommy or Paddy
Brennan. This gentleman appears to have started
in business as a highwayman in the romantic
mountains of Limerick. One verse that Jimmy

252 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

gave, and which pleased us most, because we
couldn't quite understand it, was : —

" It was in sweet Limerick (er) citty
That he left his mother dear ;
And in the Limerick (er) mountains,
He commenced his wild caroo-oo."

Upon our inquiring what a caroo was, Jimmy said
he didn't know. No doubt it was something very
desperate, and we considered we were perhaps upon
a bit of a wild caroo ourselves.

The flies had now become a most terrible plague,
especially to the horses, but most of all to the
unfortunate that happens to be tied up. One horse,
when he found he could not break away, threw
himself down so often and so violently, and hurt
himself so much, that I was compelled to let him
go, unless I had allowed him to kill himself, which
he would certainly have done.

A small grape-like fruit on a light green bush of
the sandal-wood kind, having one soft stone, was
got here. This fruit is black when ripe, and very
good eating raw. We tried them cooked with
sugar as jam, and though the others liked them
very much, I could not touch them. The after-
noons were most oppressive, and we had our usual
earthquakes ; one on the 28th causing a more than
usual falling of rocks and smashing of tea-trees.

For a few days I was taking a rest. I was
grieved to find that the water gradually ceased
running earlier than formerly — that is to say, be-
tween eleven and twelve — the usual time had been
between two and three p.m. ; but by the morning
every little basin was refilled. The phases of the
moon have evidently something to do with the water

A WELCOME SHOWER. 253

supply. As the moon waxes, the power of the
current wanes, and vice versi. On the ist January,
1874, the moon was approaching its full, a quarter's
change of the moon being the only time rain is
likely to fall in this country ; rain is threatening
now every day. After a hot and sultry night, on
the 2nd, at about two o'clock, a fine thunder-shower
from the east came over the range, and though it
did not last very long, it quite replenished the
water supply in the creek, and set it running again
after it had left off work for the day. This shower
has quite reanimated my hopes, and Mr. Tietkens
and I at once got three horses, and started off to
reach the distant range, hoping now to find some
water which would enable us to reach it. For ten
miles from the camp the shower had extended ; but
beyond that distance no signs of it were visible
anywhere. On the 4th we found a clay-pan, having
a clay-hole at one end with some mud in it, and
which the natives had but just left, but no water ;
then another, where, as thunderstorms were flying
about in all directions, we dug out a clay tank.
While at work our clothes were damped with a
sprinkling, but not enough rain fell to leave any on
the ground. It seemed evident I must pack out
water from Fort Mueller, if ever I reached the new
feature, as Nature evidently did not intend to assist,
though it seemed monstrous to have to do so, while
the sky was so densely overcast and black, and
threatening thunderstorms coming up from all
directions, and carrying away, right over our heads,
thousands of cubic acres of water which must fall
somewhere. I determined to wait a few days and
see the upshot of all these threatenings. To the
east It was undoubtedly raining, though to the west

254 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

the sky was beautifully clear. We returned to the
native clay-pan, hoping rain might have fallen, but
it was drier than when we left it. The next morn-
ing the clear sky showed that all the rains had
departed. We deepened the native clay-hole, and
then left for the depot, and found some water in a
little hole about ten miles from it. We rested the
horses while we dug a tank, and drained all the
water into it ; not having a pickaxe, we could not
get down deep enough.

From here I intended to pack some water out
north. While we were digging, another thunder-
storm came up, sprinkling us with a few drops to
show its contempt ; it then split in halves, going
respectively north and south, apparently each
dropping rain on the country they passed over.

On reaching the camp, we were told that two
nice showers had fallen, the stream now showing
no signs of languishing all the day long. With his
usual intelligence, Jimmy Andrews had pulled a
double-barelled gun out from under a heap of pack-
bags and other things by the barrel ; of course, the
hammer got caught and snapped down on the
cartridge, firing the contents, but most fortunately
missing his body by half an inch. Had it been
otherwise, we should have found him buried, and
Gibson a lunatic and alone. No natives had ap-
peared while we were away ; as I remembered what
the old gentleman told me about keeping away, so
I hoped he would do the same, on account of my
parting remarks to him, which it seems he must
have understood.

In the middle of the night my little dog Cocky
rushed furiously out of the tent, and began to bark

ftAIN AT NIGHT. 255

at, and chase some animal round the camp ; he
eventually drove it right into the tent. In the
obscured moonlight I supposed it was a native dog,
but it was white, and looked exactly like a large
fat lamb. It was, at all events, an innocent lamb to
come near us, for as it sauntered away, I sent a
revolver bullet after it, and it departed at much
greater speed, squealing and howling until out of
earshot.

On the 7th Mr. Tietkens and I again departed
for the north. That night we got wet through ;
there was plenty of water, but none that would
remain. Being sure that the native clay-hole would
now be full, we passed it on our left, and at our
outmost tank at nineteen miles were delighted to
find that both it and the clay-pan near it were full.
We called this the Emu Tank. We now went to
the bare red hill with pines, previously mentioned,
and found a trickling flow of water in a small gully.
I hope it will trickle till I return. We are now
fifty miles from Fort Mueller, and the distant
ranges seemed even farther away than that.

Moving north, we went over a mass of open-
rolling sandhills with triodia, and that other
abominable plant I call the sage-bush. In appear-
ance it is something like low tea-tree, but it differs
entirely from that family, inasmuch as it utterly
abhors water. Although it is not spiny like the
triodia, it is almost as annoying, both to horse and
man, as it grows too high for either to step over with-
out stretching, and it is too strong to be easily moved
aside ; hence, horse-tracks in this region go zigzag.

At thirty-five miles the open sandhills ceased,
and scrubs came on. It was a cool and cloudy day.

256 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

We passed through a few groves of the pretty
desert oak-trees, which I have not seen for some
time ; a few native poplars and currajongs were
also seen to-day. The horses wandered a long
way back in the night.

After travelling fifteen miles, we were now rapidly
approaching the range, and we debouched upon a
eucalyptus flat, which was covered with a beautiful
carpet of verdure, and not having met with gum-
trees for some time, those we saw here, looked
exceedingly fine, and the bark dazzling white.
Here we found a clay crab-hole. These holes are
so-called in parts of Australia, usually near the
coasts, where freshwater crabs and crayfish bury
themselves in the bottoms of places where rain
water often lodges ; the holes these creatures make
are tubes of two, three, or four feet deep, whose
sides and bottom are cemented, and which hold
water like a glass bottle ; in these tubes they remain
till rain again lodges above, when for a time they
are released. The crab-hole we found contained
a little water, which our horses drank with great
avidity. The range was now only six or seven
miles off, and it stood up bold and abrupt, having
steep and deep gorges here and there, in its southern
front. It was timberless and whitish-looking, and
I had no doubt of finding water at it. I was
extremely annoyed to discover that my field-
glasses, an excellent pair, had been ripped off my
saddle in the scrubs, and I should now be dis-
appointed in obtaining any distant view from the
summit.

" They were lost to the view like the sweet morning's dew ;
They had been, and were not, was all that I knew."

A CHARMING SPOT. 257

From the crab-hole, in seven miles we reached a
gorge in the mountain side, travelling through
scrub, over quartz, pebbly hills, and occasional gum
flats, all trending west, probably forming a creek in
that direction.

In the gorge facing us we could discover a
glittering little thread of water pouring down in a
cascade from the top of the mountain into the
gorge below, and upon reaching it we found, to our
great delight, that we were upon the stony bank of
a beautiful and pellucid little stream, whose almost
invisibly bright water was so clear that not till our
horses splashed it up with their feet could we quite
realise this treasure trove. It was but a poor place
for the horses to graze, on account of the glen being
so stony and confined, but there was no occasion for
them to ramble far to get plenty of grass, or a
shady place either. We had some dinner and a
most agreeable rest, —

" *Neath the gum-trees' shade reclining,
Where the dark green foliage twining,
Screened us from the fervid shining
Of the noontide sun."

This spot was distant about ninety miles from Fort
Mueller, in a straight line. The day was cool and
breezy. After our dinner we walked up to the foot
of the cascade, along the margin of the transparent
stream, which meandered amongst great boulders
of rock ; at the foot we found the rocks rose almost
perpendicularly from a charming little basin, into
which the stream from above and the spray from
below mingled with a most melodious sound, so
pleasant to the ear at any time, but how much more

VOL. I. s

2S8 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

to our drought-accustomed senses ; contii
sounding like the murmur in the sea-shell, \
as the poets say, remembering its ancient and a
abode, still murmurs as it murmured then,
water fell from a height of 150 feet; the d(
was not quite unbroken. A delightful shov
spray fell for many yards outside the basin, in
to a bath, which we exquisitely enjoyed ; the
was not more than six feet deep. I am
delighted with this new feature. There
gorges to the right of us, gorges to the left
and there was a gorge all round us. I sha
stay now to explore them, but will enter upo
task con amore when I bring the whole party
I called these the Alice Falls, after one c
sisters. It was impossible to ascend the moi
via the cascade, so we had to flank it to reac
top. The view from thence, though inspiriting
still most strange. Ranges upon ranges, son
and some near, bounded the horizon at all f
There was a high, bold-looking mount or ran
the north-west forty or fifty miles off. Up
certain time we always called this the North-
Mountain, as it bore in that direction whei
seen, until we discovered its proper name, w
christened it Mount Destruction. Other i
intervened much nearer. The particular port
the range we were now on, was looo feet abo'
surrounding level. I found the boiling-po
water on this summit was 206°, being the sai
upon the summit of the Sentinel — that is ti
30S5 feet above the sea. The country interv
between this and the otlier ranges in view, apf
open and good travelling ground. The r

PECULIAR RANGES. 259

beyond this have a brownish tinge, and are all
entirely different from those at Fort Mueller. The
rock formation here is a white and pinkish con-
glomerate granite. All the ranges visible are
entirely timberless, and are all more or less rounded
and corrugated, some having conical summits, and
some looking like enormous eggs standing up on
end ; this for the first view. We descended, caught
our horses, and departed for Fort Mueller, much
gratified at the discoveries already made at this
new geographical feature. On the road back I
recovered my glasses. The day was most de-
liciously cool, there was a sweet perfume in the
air, the morning was like one of those, so enjoyable
in the spring, in the far-off agricultural districts of
the fertile portions of the southern and eastern
Colonies. When we reached the red bare hill,
fifty miles from home, we found the water had ceased
to flow.

At our Emu Tank all the outside surface water
was gone, the tank only holding some. Our three
horses greatly reduced its volume, and, fearing it
would all evaporate before we could return, we cut
a quantity of bushes and sticks to protect it from
the sun. Remounting, we now made for the native
clay-hole that we had avoided in going out. The
outside water was now all but gone, but the hole
still contained some, though not sufficient for all
the horses ; we set to work and chopped out
another hole with a tomahawk, and drained all the
thick water off the clay-pan into it. Then we cut
boughs, bushes, and sticks to cover them, and
proceeded homewards. On reaching the ten-mile
or kangaroo tank, we found to our disgust that the

s 2

26o AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

water was nearly all gone, and our original tank
not large enough, so we chopped out another and
drained all the surplus water into it. Then the
boughs and bushes and sticks for a roof must be
got, and by the time this was finished we were
pretty well sick of tank making. Our hands were
blistered, our arms were stiff, and our whole bodies
bathed in streams of perspiration, though it was a
comparatively cool day. We reached home very
late on the 13th, having left the range on the loth.
I was glad to hear that the natives had not troubled
the camp in my absence. Another circumstance
gratified us also, and that was, Gibson had shot a
large wallaby ; we had not tasted meat since we
left on the 7th.

To-day, 14th, we were getting all our packs
and things ready for a start into the new and
northern regions, when at eleven a.m. Mr. Tietkens
gave the alarm that all the rocks overhead were
lined with natives, who began to utter the most
direful yells so soon as they found themselves
discovered. Their numbers were much larger than
before, and they were in communication with others
in the tea-tree on the opposite side of the creek,
whose loud and inharmonious cries made even the
heavens to echo with their sounds. They began
operations by poising their spears and waving us
away. We waited for some little time, watching
their movements, with our rifles in our hands. A
lliijht of spears came crashing through the flimsy
sides of our house, the roof and west gable being
the only parts thickly covered, and they could see
us jumping about inside to avoid their spears.
Then a flight of spears came from the concealed

NATIVE ATTACK, 261

enemy in the tea-tree. Mr. Tietkens and I rushed out,
and fired right into the middle of the crowd. From
the rocks behind which they hid, they sent another
flight of spears ; how we escaped them I can't
imagine. In the meantime Gibson and Jimmy
were firing through the boughs, and I decided that
it was for us to take the aggressive. We rushed
up the rocks after the enemy, when they seemed to
drop like caterpillars, as instantaneously, they were
all down underneath us right at the camp. I was
afraid they would set fire to it ; we however finally
drove them from our stronghold, inducing them to
decamp more or less the worse, and leave behind
them a considerable quantity of military stores,
in the shape of spears, wommerahs, waddies,
wallabies' skins, owls, fly-flappers, red ochre, and
numerous other minor valuables. These we
brought in triumph to the camp. It always dis-
tressed me to have to fire at these savages, and
it was only when our lives were in most imminent
danger that we did so, for, as I ago says, though
in the trade of war I have slain men, yet do I hold
it very stuff* o' the conscience to do no contrived
murder. I lack iniquity, sometimes, to do me
service. We then went on with our work, though
expecting our foes to return, but we were not again
molested, as they now probably thought we were
vipers that would not stand too much crowding.

Three horses were missing, therefore we could
not leave that day, and when they were found on
the next, it was too late to start. I tied one of these
wretches up all night, so as to get the mob early
to-morrow. I was very uneasy about the water in
our tanks, as every hour's delay was of the greatest

262 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

consequence. I had no very great regret at leaving
this depot, except that I had not been able to push
out more than 1 50 miles to the west from it. I now
thought by going to the new northern range, that
my progress thence might be easier. We may per-
haps have paid the passing tribute of a sigh at
leaving our little gardens, for the seeds planted in
most of them had grown remarkably well. The
plants that throve best here were Indian gram,
maize, peas, spinach, pumpkins, beans, and cucum-
bers ; melons also grew pretty well, with turnips
and mustard. Only two wattles out of many dozens
sown here came up, and no eucalypts have ap-
peared, although the seeds of many different kinds
were set. Gibson had been most indefatigable in
keeping the little gardens in order, and I believe
was really grieved to leave them, but the inexorable
mandates of circumstance and duty ibrced us from
our pleasant places, to wander into ampler realms
and spaces, where no foot has left its traces. De-
parting, still we left behind us some lasting memo-
rials of our visit to this peculiar place, which,
though a city of refuge to us, was yet a dangerous
and a dreadful home. The water supply was now
better than when we arrived.

" Our fount disappearing,

From the rain-drop did borrow,
To me comes great cheering,
I leave it to-morrow."

There were a number of opossums here which
often damaged the garden produce in the night.
There were various dull-plumaged small birds, with
hawks, crows, and occasionally ducks, and one

FOR T MUELLER, 2 63

abominable croaking creature at night used to
annoy me exceedingly, and though I often walked
up the glen I could never discover what sort of bird
it was. It might have been a raven ; yes, a raven
never flitting may be sitting, may be sitting, on
those shattered rocks of wretchedness — on that
Troglodytes' shore, where in spirit I may wander,
o'er those arid regions yonder ; but where I wish to
squander, time and energies no more. Though a
most romantic region, its toils and dangers legion,
my memory oft besieging, what time cannot re-
store ; again I hear the shocks of the shattering
of the rocks, see the wallabies in flocks, all trem-
bling at the roar, of the volcanic reverberations, or
seismatic detonations, which peculiar sensations
I wish to know no more. The horses were mus-
tered at last, and at length we were about to depart,
not certainly in the direction I should have wished
to go, but still to something new.

Fort Mueller, of course, was named after my kind
friend the Baron,* who was a personal contributor
to the fund for this expedition. It was really the
most astonishing place it has ever been my fortune
to visit. Occasionally one would hear the metallic
sounding clang, of some falling rock, smashing into
the glen below, toppled from its eminence by some
subterranean tremour or earthquake shock, and the
vibrations of the seismatic waves would precipitate
the rocks into different groups and shapes than they
formerly possessed. I had many strange, almost
superstitious feelings with regard to this singular
spot, for there was always a strange depression upon
my spirits whilst here, arising partly perhaps from
the constant dread of attacks from the hostile

264 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

natives, and partly from the physical peculiarities of
the region itself.

" On all there hung a shadow and a fear,
A sense of mystery, the spirit daunted,
And said, as plain as whisper in the ear.
This region's haunted."

On the 1 6th we departed, leaving to the native
owners of the soil, this singular glen, where the
water flowed only in the night, where the earth-
quake and the dry thunderstorm occurred every
day, and turned our backs for the last time upon

" Their home by horror haunted.
Their desert land enchanted,"

and plunged again into the northern wilderness.

DEPART, 26s

CHAPTER VII.

FROM I 6th JANUARY TO I9TH FEBRUARY, 1 874.

The Kangaroo Tanks — Horses stampede — ^Water by digging —
Staggering horses — Deep rock-reservoir — Glen Gumming —
Mount Russell— Glen Gerald— Glen Fielder — The Alice Falls
— Separated hills — Splendid-looking creek — Excellent country
— The Pass of the Abencerrages — Sladen Water — An alarm
— Jimmy's anxiety for a date — Mount Barlee — Mount Butt-
field — " Stagning " water — Ranges continue to the west — A
notch — Dry rocky basins — Horses impounded — Desolation
Glen — ^Wretched night — Terrible Billy — A thick clump of
gums — A strong and rapid stream — The Stemodia viscosa
— Head first in a bog — Leuhman's Spring — Groener's and
Tyndall's Springs — The Great Gorge — Fort McKellar — The
Gorge of Tarns — Ants again — Swim in the tarn — View from
summit of range — Altitude — Tatterdemalions — An explorer's
accomplishments — Cool and shady caves — Large rocky tarn
— The Circus — High red sandhills to the w^st — Ancient lake
bed — Burrowing wallabies — ^The North-west Mountain —
Jimmy and the grog bottle — The Rawlinson Range — Moth-
and fly-catching plant — An inviting mountain — Inviting valley
— Fruitless search for water — Ascend the mountain — Mount
Robert — Dead and dying horses — Description of the mob —
Mount Destruction — Reflections — Life for water — Hot winds
— Retreat to Sladen Water — Wild ducks — An ornithological
lecture — Shift the camp — Cockatoo parrots — Clouds of
pigeons — Dragged by Diaway — Attacked by the natives.

It was late on the i6th of January when we left
Fort Mueller. We reached our first or Kangaroo
Tanks in eleven miles, so called as we saw several
kangaroos there on our first visit ; but only having

2 66 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

revolvers, we could not get near enough to shoot
any of them. The water had remained in them
quite as well as I could expect, but we did not use
it that night. The horses were evidently inclined
to ramble back, so we short-hobbled them ; but as
soon as it became dusk, they all went off at a gallop.
Mr. Tietkens and I went after them, but the wretches
would not allow us to get up with them. The
moment they heard us breaking any sticks in the
scrubs behind them, off they started again ; we had
to go five or six miles before we could get hold of
any of them, and it being cloudy and dark, we
hardly knew which way to drive them back ; at
length we saw the reflection of a fire, and it proved
we were taking them right ; it was midnight when
we got back. We tied one up and waited for morn-
ing, when we found they were all gone again, but
having one to ride we thought to get them pretty
soon. It now appeared that in the scrubs and
darkness last night we had missed three. Now we
had to use our tank water, the three missing horses
not being found by night. The missing horses were
found the next day, the i8th, and we continued our
journey from these now empty tanks at twelve o'clock,
and reached the native clay-pan tanks by night.
The second one we had dug, though well shaded,
was quite dry, and the native hole contained only
sufficient for about half the horses. Some drank it
all up, the rest going without, but we consoled them
with the assurance that they should have some
when we reached the top or Emu Tank. We
wanted to fill up our own water-bags, as our supply
was exhausted. On reaching it, however, to our
disgust wc found it perfectly dry, and as we couldn't

GLENS AND GORGES. 267

get any water, the only thing to do was to keep
pushing on, as far and as fast as we could, towards
the Alice Falls. We got some water by digging in
a small Grevillea (beef-wood-tree), water-channel,
about three miles this side of it. The horses were
exceedingly thirsty, and some of them when they
got water were afflicted with staggers. The grass
was beautifully green. The last few days have been
comparatively cool. As the horses had two heavy
days' stages, I did not move the camp, but Mr.
Tietkens and I rode off to the main range to
explore the gorges we had formerly seen to the
east. The country at the foot of the range was
very stony, rough, and scrubby. We reached the
mouth of the most easterly gorge, tied up our
horses, and walked up. We very soon came upon
a fine deep long rock-reservoir with water running
into and out of it. I could not touch the bottom
with over twenty feet of string. The rocky sides
of this gorge rose almost perpendicularly above us,
and the farther we went up, the more water we saw,
until our passage was completely stopped by the
abruptness of the walls and the depth of the water
at their feet ; I called this Glen Gumming.* The
particular part or hill of the range on which this re-
servoir exists I named Mount Russell ; * this was the
most eastern mount of the range. We then turned
westerly towards the Alice Falls, and in a mile and
a half we came to another gorge, where there was
a cascade falling into a very clear round basin over
twenty feet deep, washed out of solid white stone.
There were numerous other basins, above and
below the large one. I called this place Glen
Gerald. Proceeding on our way, we came to another

268 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

cascade and basin ; the fall of water was from a
lesser height. I called this Glen Fielder. From
here we went to the Alice Falls, rested the horses,
and had a swim and delicious shower bath. A
warm wind from the south-east prevailed all
day.

I wished to find a road through or over this
range, but will evidently have to go farther to the
west, where at seven or eight miles there are ap-
parently two separate hummocks. We returned to
camp quite charmed with our day's ramble, although
the country was very rough and stony. The vege-
tation about here is in no way different from any
which exists between this range and Mount Olga.
Making a move now in the direction of the two
apparently separated hills, we passed through some
scrub of course, and then came to grassy gum-tree
or eucalyptus flats, with water-channels. At twelve
miles we came fairly on to the banks of a splendid-
looking creek, with several sheets of water ; its bed
was broad, with many channels, the intermediate
spaces being thickly set with long coarse green
rushes. The flow of the water was to the north,
and the creek evidently went through a glen or
pass ; the timber grew thick and vigorous ; the
water had a slightly brackish taste. All through
the pass we saw several small sheets of water.
One fine hole had great quantities of ducks on it,
but Gibson, who started to shoot some of them,
couldn't get his gun to go off, but the ducks' fire-
arms acted much better, for they went off extremely
well.

We encamped at a place near a recent native
camp, where the grass was very good. This was

AN UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCE. 269

evidently a permanently watered pass, with some
excellent country round it to the south.

The range appeared to continue to the west, and
this seemed the only pass through it. I called this
the Pass of the Abencerrages — that is to say, the
Children of the Saddle. The creek and its
waters I named Sladen Water, after the late Sir
Charles Sladen.* This evening, having had a com-
fortable bath, I was getting my blankets ready for
bed when Jimmy Andrews came rushing over to
me. I immediately grabbed a rifle, as I thought
it was an attack by the natives. He merely begged
to know what day of the month it was, and
requested me to mention the fact, with day and
date in my journal, that — yes, Gibson was actually
seen in the act of bathing. I thought Jimmy was
joking, as this I could not believe without the
sensible and true avouch of mine own eyes, but
there was the naked form, the splashing water, and
the swimming dog. It was a circumstance well
worth recording, for I am sure it is' the first full-
bodied ablution he has indulged in since leaving
Mount Olga, eighteen weeks to a day, and I am
not at all sure that he bathed there. It was there-
fore with great pleasure that I recorded the unusual
circumstance. When Jimmy left me grinning, and
I had time to get over my surprise, and give mature
consideration to this unusual matter, it did seem to
me better, having the welfare of the whole of the
members of my expedition at heart — I say, it did
appear better, on the principle of the greatest good
for the greatest number, that Gibson should endure
the agony of an all-over wash, than that we should
be attacked and perhaps killed by the natives.

270 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

The flies on this range are evidently very nume-
rous, for their attention to our eyes is not only
persistent but very annoying.

This morning I made the latitude of this pass to
be 24° 58', and longitude 127° 55'. We followed
this creek ; travelling along its banks, we found
native huts very numerous, and for a few miles
some sheets of water were seen ; the bed then
became too sandy ; its course was about north-west.
In eight or nine miles we found that sandhill and
casuarina country existed, and swallowed up the
unfortunate creek. The main line of ranges con-
tinued westerly, and, together with another range in
front of us to the north, formed a kind of crescent.
No pass appeared to exist between them. I now
went to the eastern end of a range that lay to the
north of us, and passing over a low ridge had a
good view of the surrounding country. Ranges
appeared in almost all directions ; the principal ones
lay to the west and north-west. One conspicuous
abrupt-faced mount bore north 1 7° east ; this I
named Mount Barlee. There were others to the
east-north-east, and the long sweep of the range
from which we had come to the south. One hill
near us looked inviting, and we found a deep rocky
gorge with water in its neighbourhood. In fact
there were several fine rocky basins ten and twelve
feet deep, though they were very rough places to
get horses to. I called the high hill Mount Butt-
field. It appeared as if no rain had fallen here
lately ; the water in all these holes was greenish
and stagnant, or stagning as Gibson and Jimmy
called it. The grass, such as there was, was old,
white, and dry. The country down below, north-

DESOLATION GLEN. 271

wards, consisted of open, sandy, level, txiodia ground,
dotted with a few clumps of the desert oak, giving
a most pleasing appearance to the eye, but its reality
is startlingly different, keeping, as it were, the word
of promise to the eye, but breaking it to the hope.
While the horses were being collected this morning
I ascended Mount Buttfield, and found that ranges
continued to the west for a considerable distance.
I now decided to make for a notch or fall in the
main range we had left, which now bore nearly
west, as there appeared to be a creek issuing from
the hills there. Travelling over casuarina sandhills
and some level triodia ground, we found there was
a creek with eucalypts on it, but it was quite evident
that none of the late showers had fallen there.
Hardly any grass was to be found, the ground
being open and stony, with thorny vegetation.

In the main channel we could only find deep,
rocky, dry basins, but up a small branch gorge I
found three small basins with a very limited supply
of water, not sufficient for my horses both now and
in the morning, so we thought it better that they
should do without it to-night. Above the camp
there was a kind of pound, so we put all the horses
up there, as it was useless to let them ramble all
over the country in the night. The ants were
excessively troublesome here. I could not find
sufficient shade for the thermometer to-day, but
kept it as cool as I could for fear of its bursting.

This glen, or rather the vegetation which had
existed in it, had been recently burned by the
natives, and it had in consequence a still more
gloomy and dreary appearance. I called it by its
proper name, that is to say, Desolation Glen.

272 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

I could get no rest last night on account of the
ants, the wretches almost ate me alive, and the
horses tried so often to pass by the camp that I was
delighted at the reappearance of the morn. Mr.
Tietkens also had to shift his camp, and drove the
horses back, but ants as big as elephants, or an
earthquake that would destroy the world, would
never wake Gibson and Jimmy. It was difficult to
get the horses to the place where the water was,
and we could only manage three at a time. There
was fortunately just enough water, though none to
spare. One old fool of a horse must needs jump
into an empty rock basin ; it was deep and funnel-
shaped, so that he could not stand when he got
there, so he fell, and had knocked himself about
terribly before we could get him out. Indeed, I
never thought he could come out whole, and I was
preparing to get him out in pieces when he made
one last super-equine exertion, and fell up and out
at the same time.

The delay in watering the horses, and extracting
Terrible Billy from the basin, made it twelve
o'clock before we could turn our backs upon this
hideous place, hoping to find no more like it. We
travelled along the stony slope of the range nearly
west, and in less than two miles we crossed a small
creek -channel with a thick clump of gum-trees
right under the range. The tops of a second
clump were also visible about half a mile off. Mr.
Tietkens went to search down Desolation Creek.
I directed Gibson to go on with the horses to the
foot of a hill which I pointed out to him, and to
remain there until I overtook him. Up the creek
close to the clump of timber the whole glen was

A DANGEROUS MORASS. 273

choked with a rank vegetation, beneath which the
water ran in a strong and rapid stream that issued
to the upper air from the bottom of the range.
In trying to cross this channel, my horse became
entangled in the dense vegetation, whose roots,
planted in rich and oozy soil, induced the tops of
this remarkable plant to grow ten, twelve, and
fifteen feet high. It had a nasty gummy, sticky
feel when touched, and emitted a strong, coarse
odour of peppermint. The botanical name of this
plant is Stemodia viscosa. This vegetation was
not substantial enough to sustain my horse, and he
plunged so violently that he precipitated me head
first into the oozy, black, boggy mass, and it
appeared as though he must be swallowed up alive.
I had in such a place great difficulty in getting my
saddle, rifle, revolver, and other gear off the animals
back. I gave up all hopes of recovering the horse,
for he had ceased struggling, and was settling down
bodily in the morass.

I left him and ran shouting after Gibson and
Jimmy, but they were too far away ; Mr. Tietkens,
however, on his way after them, heard me and rode
up. His astonishment was great indeed when I
showed him the horse, now deeply imbedded in the
bog. The vegetation could hold us up above the
running stream, and at last, but how I never could
make out, by dint of flogging, helping to lift, and
yelling at him, the creature, when he found we were
trying to help him, interested himself once more in
the matter, and at length we got him out of this
bottomless pit. He was white when he went in,
but coal black when he came out. There were no
rock-holes at the head of this spring; the water

VOL. I. T

274 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERS^ED.

drains from underneath the mountains, and is
permanent beyond a doubt. I called this Lueh-
man s Springs. The water appears on the surface
for a little over a mile. Having re-saddled my
dirty black beast, we went to the next gorge, where
the clump of eucalyptus was very thick and fine-
looking ; the water here springing from the hills
as at the last, we were mighty skeery how we
approached this. A fine stream of water ran
here.

After this we found five other glens with running
springs, in about as many miles ; they were named
respectively, but afterwards, Groener s and Tyndall's
Springs, the Great Gorge, Fort McKellar,* where
I subsequently had a depot, and the Gorge of
Tarns. Fort McKellar is the most western water
suitable for a depot, and is the most agreeable
encampment. Many of these glens had fine rock-
holes as well as running springs ; most of the
channels were full of bulrushes and the peculiar
Stemodia. This plant is of a dark-green colour, of a
pulpy nature, with a thick leaf, and bears a minute
violet-coloured flower. It seemed very singular
that all these waters should exist close to the place
I called Desolation Glen ; it appeared as if it must
be the only spot on the range that was destitute of
water. After some time spent in exploring these
charming places, it was time to look about for the
horses, and though Gibson had crossed all these
channels within sight of their waters, he never
stopped for a moment to see if the horses would
drink. We expected to overtake him in a mile or
two, as the hill pointed out to him was now close at
hand. The country was so solid and stony that we

A WATERLESS CAMP. 275

could not follow the tracks of the horses for any
distance, they could only be picked up here and
there, but the country being open, though rising and
falling into gullies and ridges, we thought to see
them at any moment, so that, as we had found so
many waters and the day was Sunday, I wanted to
camp early and rest. Gibson, however, kept
driving on, driving on, going in no particular
direction — north, north-north-west, north-west, south-
west, north again ; and having got such a start of
us, it was just night when we overtook him, still
driving on up a dry creek, going due south, slap
into the range amongst rocks and stones, &c. I
was greatly annoyed, for, having found six splendid
permanent waters, we had to camp without a drop
of water either for ourselves or our horses, the
animals being driven about the whole day when
they might have had a fine day's rest, with green
grass and splendid water. It is impossible to drill
sense into some people's heads ; but there — perhaps
I had no sense in coming into such a region
myself.

A fierce, warm south wind blew all night ; the
ants were dreadful, and would not allow me to sleep
for a minute, though the others did not seem to feel
them. The range still continued to the west, and
other creeks were visible in that direction, but I
decided to return to the last water I had seen — that
is to say, at the Gorge of Tarns. Not being able to
sleep, I went after the horses long before daylight,
and found they had wandered a terrible distance,
although short-hobbled. I soon found out the
cause, for one horse had been loose all night with
his pack on, and had consequently led the others a

T 2

276 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

fine jaunt. When all were found and packed, we
returned to the gorge which, in consequence of its
having so many splendid basins of deep water, I
named as before said. On arriving, we fixed our
camp close up to the large basins, but the horses
could water a mile below, where some tea-tree
grew, and where the water reappeared upon the
surface after sinking beneath it. There was some
good feed here for the horses, but it was over a very
limited area.

We had a swim in the fine rocky tarn, and we
were delighted to be joined by Gibson in our
ablutions. Could the bottom of this pool be cleared
of the loose blocks of stone, gravel, and sand, it
would doubtless be found of very great depth ; but
the rains and floods of ages have nearly filled it with
stones, loosened from the upper rocks, and it is
only in the crevices between the rocks at the bottom
that one can discover the depth to be greater than
seven feet. Shade here is very scarce when the sun
is overhead, except up around the large basin,
where there are caves and overhanging rocky
ledges, under which we sit, and over which the
splashing waters from their sources above fall into
the tarn below.

The view from the top of the range was very
similar to that from Mount Buttfield, only that now
to the south we could see an horizon of scrub. To
the north, the natives were burning the spinifex,
and! this produced such a haze that no definite view
could be obtained. Other portions of the range
quite prevented a western view. The altitude of
this summit was a little over 3000 feet above sea
level.

SHREDS AND FA TCHES. 277

Not being able to glean any farther information
about the surrounding country, we (con)descended to
work in the shady caves, swimming and working
alternately during the day, for we had plenty of the
ever-recurring tasks to do, viz. the repairing of
pack-bags and clothes, and the unravelling of canvas
for twine.

The first night we passed here was close and hot.
We had so much of sewing to do that we set to work
with a will ; our clothes also require as much
attention as the pack-bags and pack-saddles. No
one could conceive the amount of tearing and
patching that is for ever going on ; could either a
friend or stranger see us in our present garb, our
appearance would scarcely be thought even pic-
turesque ; for a more patched and ragged set of
tatterdemalions it would be difficult to find upon
the face of the earth. We are not, indeed, actually
destitute of clothes, but, saving our best for future
emergencies, we keep continually patching our
worst garments, hence our peculiar appearance, as
our hats, shirts, and trousers, are here and there, so
quilted with bits of old cloth, canvas, calico, basil,
greenhide, and old blanket, that the original garment
is scarcely anywhere visible. In the matter of boots
the traveller must be able to shoe himself as well as
his horses in these wild regions of the west. The
explorer indeed should be possessed of a good few
accomplishments — amongst these I may enumerate
that he should be able to make a pie, shoe himself
or his horse, jerk a doggerel verse or two, not for
himself, but simply for the benefit or annoyance of
others, and not necessarily for publication, nor as a
guarantee of good faith ; he must be able to take,

2 78 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

and make, an observation now and again, mend a
watch, kill or cure a horse as the times may require,
make a pack-saddle, and understand something of
astronomy, surveying, geography, geology, and
mineralogy, et hoc, simile huic.

With regard to shoeing oneself, I will give my
reader some idea of what strength is required for
boots in this country. I repaired mine at Fort
Mueller with a double sole of thick leather, with
sixty horseshoe nails to each boot, all beautifully
clenched within, giving them a soft and Turkish
carpet-like feeling to the feet inside ; then, with an
elegant corona of nail-heads round the heel and
plates at the toes, they are perfect dreadnoughts,
and with such understandings I can tread upon a
mountain with something like firmness, but they
were nearly the death of me afterwards for all that.

In the shade of our caves here the thermometer
does not rise very high, but in the external glen,
where we sleep in the open air, it is no cooler.

On the 29th we left this cool and shady spot —
cool and shady, however, only amongst the caves —
and continued our march still westward, along the
slopes of the range.

In eight miles we crossed ten creeks issuing from
glens or gorges in the range ; all that I inspected
had rocky basins, with more or less water in them.
Other creeks were seen ahead, but no view could
be got of any horizon to the west ; only the
northern and eastern ones being open to our view.
The country surrounding the range to the north
appeared to consist of open red sandhills, with
casuarina in the hollows between. At sixteen miles
I found a large rocky tarn in a creek-gorge ; but

THE CIRCUS AND THE EAGLE. 279

little or no grass for the horses — indeed, the whole
country at the foot of this range is very bare of that
commodity, except at Sladen Water, where it is
excellent.

Since we left Sladen Water the horses have not
done well, and the slopes of this range being so
rough and stony, many of them display signs of
sore-footedness. I cannot expect the range to
continue farther than another day's stage; and
though I cannot see its end, yet I feel 'tis near.

Many delays by visiting places caused it to be
very late when we sat down amongst stones and
triodia to devour our frugal supper. A solitary
eagle was the monarch of this scene ; it was perched
upon the highest peak of a bare ridge, and formed a
feathery sky-line when looking up the gorge — always
there sat the solemn, solitary, and silent bird, like
the Lorelei on her rock — above — beautifully, there,
as though he had a mission to watch the course of
passing events, and to record them in the books of
time and fate. There was a larger and semicircular
basin still farther up the gorge ; this I called the
Circus, but this creek and our rock-hole ever after
went by the name of the Circus. In a few miles
the next day I could see the termination of the
range. In nine miles we crossed three creeks, then
ascended a hill north of us, and obtained at last a
western view. It consisted entirely of high, red sand-
hills with casuarinas and low mallee, which formed
the horizon at about ten miles. The long range that
had brought us so far to the west was at an end ;
it had fallen off slightly in altitude towards its
western extremity, and a deep bed of rolling sand-
hill country, covered with desert vegetation, sur-

28o AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

rounded it on all sides. Nearer to us, north-westerly,
and stretching nearly to west, lay the dry, irregular,
and broken expanse of an ancient lake bed. On
riding over to it we found it very undefined, as
patches of sandhills occurred amongst low ridges of
limestone, with bushes and a few low trees all over
the expanse. There were patches of dry, soda-like
particles, and the soil generally was a loose dust-
coloured earth. Samphire bushes also grew in
patches upon it, and some patches of our arch-enemy,
triodia. Great numbers of wallaby, a different kind
from the rock, were seen amongst the limestone
rises ; they had completely honeycombed all we
inspected. Water there was none, and if Noah's
deluge visited this place it could be conveniently
stowed away, and put out of sight in a quarter of an
hour.

Returning to the horses, we turned southerly to
the most westerly creek that issues from the range.
I found some water up at the head of it in
rock-holes ; but it was so far up easterly, that we
could not have been more than five or six miles
across the hills from our last night's encampment at
the Circus. There was only a poor supply of water
in two small holes, which could not last longer than
three days at the most. The thermometer ranged
up to 104° to-day. Some of the horses are now
terribly footsore. I would shoe them, only that we
are likely to be in the sandhills again immediately.
I did not exactly know which way to go. Mr.
Tietkens and I ascended the highest hill in this part
of the range. I had yesterday seen something like
the top of a ridge south-westerly ; I now found it
was part of a low distant range, and not of a very

JIMMY'S IDEAS OF GROG. 281

promising nature. There was a conspicuous moun-
tain, which now bore north-east about fifty miles
away, and I fancied I saw the refracted tops of other
ranges floating in the mirage. I thought, from the
mountain just mentioned, I might discover others,
which might lead me away to the west. Up to the
present time we had always called this, in conse-
quence of its bearing when first seen, the North-
west Mountain. I thought a change of country
might be met with sooner in a north or north-
westerly direction than in a west or south-westerly
one, as the sources of the Murchison River must be
met somewhere in the former direction. I tried the
boiling-point of water here, and found that the
ebullition occurred at two degrees higher than at the
Alice Falls, which indicated a fall of nearly
1000 feet, the western end of the range being
much lower than the middle or eastern. We had
still a couple of bottles of spirit left in the medical
department, and as nobody seemed inclined to get ill,
we opened one here. Jimmy Andrews having been
a sailor boy, I am afraid had learnt bad habits, as he
was very fond of grog. When we opened the last
bottle at Christmas, and Jimmy had had a taste, he
said, " What's the use of only a nobbier or two ? I

wouldn't give a d ," dump, I suppose he meant,

"for grog unless I could get drunk." I said, " Well,
now, my impression is that it would require very little
grog to do that." He said, " Why, I'd drink six
bottles off" and never know it." I said, " Well, the
next bottle we open you shall have as much out of
it as you can take in one drink, even if you drink
the whole bottle." He replied, ** Oh, all right, I'll
leave a nobbier for you, you know, Mr. Giles ; and

282 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

I'd like to give Tietkens a taste ; but that [adjective]
Gibson, Til swear he won't git none." So we
opened the bottle, and I said, " Now then, Jimmy,
here's your grog, let's see how much you can drink."
•' Oh ! " said he, ** I ain't going to drink it all at once."
** All right," I said, ** if you don't, we shall — so now is
your chance." Jimmy poured out a good stiff glass
and persisted in swallowing it raw. In five minutes
he was fast asleep, and that was all he got out of
the bottle ; he never woke till morning, and then —
well, the bottle was empty then.

My readers will form a better idea of this
peculiar and distant mountain range when I tell
them that it is more than sixty miles long, averaging
five or six miles through. It is of a bold and
rounded form ; there is nothing pointed or jagged
in its appearance anywhere, except where the eagle
sat upon the rock at the Circus ; its formation is
mostly a white conglomerate, something between
granite, marble, and quartz, though some portions
are red. It is surrounded, except to the east, by
deserts, and may be called the monarch of those
regions where the un visited mountains stand. It
possesses countless rocky glens and gorges, creeks
and valleys, nearly all containing reservoirs of the
purest water. When the Australian summer sunset
smooths the roughness of the corrugated range,
like a vast and crumpled garment, spread by
the great Creator's hand, east and west before me
stretching, these eternal mountains stand. It is a
singular feature in a strange land, and God knows
by what beady drops of toilsome sweat Tietkens
and I rescued it from its former and ancient
oblivion. Its position in latitude is between the

THE RA WLINSON RANGE, 283

24th and 25th parallels, and its longitude between
127° 30' and 128^30'. I named it the Rawlinson
Range, after Sir Henry Rawlinson, President of the
Royal Geographical Society of London. I found
a singular moth, and fly-catching, plant in this
range ; it exudes a gummy substance, by which
insects become attached to the leaves. The ap-
pearance of this range from a distance is white, flat,
corrugated, rounded, and treeless. It rises between
1 100 and 1200 feet in its highest portions, about
the centre, in the neighbourhood of Fort McKellar,
above the surrounding country, though its greatest
elevation above the sea is over 3000 feet.

On the ist of February, after a very hot night,
we made a late start for the North-west Mountain,
which now bore nearly north-east. It took some
miles to get clear of the stones of the range, the
appearance of the new feature we were steering for
being most inviting. Its corrugated front pro-
claimed the existence of ravines and gorges, while
a more open valley ran between it and some lower
hills immediately to the west of it.

The horses were so delighted to get off" the
stones, that they travelled uncommonly fast, and we
got over twenty-eight miles by night, though the
country was exceedingly heavy travelling, being all
high, red sandhills, and until near the end of our
day s stage we could scarcely ever see the
mountain at all. We encamped without water,
but I expected to get some early next day at the
mountain. Two of the horses lay down at the camp
all night, being thirsty, tired, and footsore ; there
was no grass for them. The thermometer to-day
indicated 108'^ in the shade. A great number of

284 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

the horses, from being footsore, were lying down
this morning, and when mustered they all looked
excessively hollow and thirsty. If no water be
found at this mountain, how many of them will be
alive in a couple of days ? Yesterday we made
twenty-eight, and to-day at twenty-three, miles we
reached the foot of the mount. There was an
inviting valley, up which we took the horses a mile.
Then, leaving Gibson and Jimmy to await our
return, Mr. Tietkens and I rode away in search of
water. It was evident that only a trifling shower,
if any, had visited this range, for not a drop of
water could be found, nor any rock reservoirs where
it might lodge. We parted company, and searched
separately, but when we met again we could only
report to each other our non-success. It was now
past two o clock, our horses had been ridden some-
what fast over the most horrible and desolate stony
places, where no water is, and they were now in a
very exhausted state, especially Mr. Tietkens's.

There were yet one or two ravines in the southern
face of the range, and while I ascended the moun-
tain, Mr. Tietkens and the others took the horses
round that way and searched. From the summit
of this sterile mount I had expected at least a
favourable view, but to my intense disappointment
nothing of the kind was to be seen. Two little
hills only, bearing 20° and 14° west of north, were
the sole objects higher than the general horizon ;
the latter was formed entirely of high, red sand-
hills, with casuarina between. To the east only
was a peaked and jagged range, which I called
Mount Robert, after my brother ; all the rest was
a bed of undulating red sand. What was to be

A TERRIBLE MOUNTAIN. 285

hoped from a region such as this ? Could water
exist in it ? It was scarcely possible. For an
independent watercourse I could not hope, because
in the many hundreds of miles westward from the
telegraph line which we had travelled, no creek had
been met, except in the immediate vicinity of
ranges, and not a drop of water, so to speak, had I
obtained away from these. I was upon the point
of naming this Mount Disappointment, it looked so
inviting from a distance, and yet I could find no
water ; and if none here, what possibility could there
be of getting any in the midst of the dense bed of
sandhills beyond ? I did not test the boiling-point
of water, for I had none to boil, but the elevation
was about 1 100 feet above the surrounding country.
From a distance this mount has a very cheering
and imposing appearance, and I would have gone
to it from almost any distance, with a full belief in
its having water about it. But if, indeed, the inland
mountain has really voice and sound, what I could
gather from the sighings of the light zephyrs that
fanned my heated brow, as I stood gazing hope-
lessly from this summit, was anything but a friendly
greeting, it was rather a warning that called me
away ; and I fancied I could hear a voice
repeating. Let the rash wandVer here beware ;
Heaven makes not travellers its peculiar care.

Descending now, I joined the others at the foot
of the hill, when Mr. Tietkens and Gibson informed
me they had searched everywhere, but in vain.
The horses were huddled together in the shade of
a thicket, three or four of them lying down with
their packs on, and all looking the pictures of
wretchedness and woe. It was now past four

286 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

o'clock, and there was no alternative but to
retreat.

The Gorge of Tarns, thirty miles away, about
south-south-west, was the nearest water, but
between us and it was another low range with a
kind of saddle or break in the middle. I wished,
if possible, to get over this before night, so we
turned the horses' heads in that direction. One
fine horse called Diamond seemed suffering more
than the rest. Mr. Tietkens's riding-horse, a small
blue roan, a very game little animal that had always
carried him well, albeit not too well treated, was
also very bad, and two others were very trouble-
some to drive along. The saddle in the low range
was a most difficult and stony pass ; so dreadfully
rough and scrubby was it, I was afraid that night
would descend upon us before we could reach the
southern side. Mr. Tietkens s Bluey gave in here,
and fell heavily down a stony slope into a dense
thicket of scrub ; we had the greatest difficult in
getting him out, and it was only by rolling him over
the stones and down the remainder of the slope,
for he could not stand, that we got him to the
bottom. He was severely cut and bruised in the
descent. We just managed to get clear of the
stones by dark, and unpacked the exhausted
animals, which had been travelling almost ever
since daylight. We had no water except a mouth-
ful for the little dog. The thermometer stood at
1 08°, ourselves and our horses were choking for
water.

In the morning several of the horses were lying
dying about the camp ; Bluey, Diamond, a little
cob — mate or brother of the one killed on Elder s

THE HORSES. 287

Creek — and one or two more, while those that were
able had wandered away. Though we were up and
after them at three in the morning, it was ten before
I could despatch Mr. Tietkens and Jimmy with the
main mob. Poor little Bluey died soon after sun-
rise. Gibson was after the absent horses, which he
brought at length, and we packed up and went after
the others. Gibson s usual riding-horse, Trew, was
very bad, and quite unable to carry him. Mr.
Tietkens was now riding an old horse which I had
purchased in Victoria, and had owned for some
time ; he was called Widge. I had him out on
my former expedition. He was a cool, calcula-
ting villain, that no ordinary work could kill, and
he was as lively as a cricket when Mr. Tietkens
rode him away ; he usually carried a pack. Jimmy
carried the little dog Cocky, now nearly dead from
thirst and heat, though we had given him the last
drop of water we possessed. Dogs, birds, and large
beasts in Australia often die of heat, within sight of
water. Jimmy was mounted on a gray-hipped
horse, which was also out on my former trip ;
he carried his rider well to the end. Gibson I had
mounted on a young bay mare, a creature as good
as they make them ; she was as merry and gay, as
it is possible for any of her sex, even of the human
kind, to be. Her proper name was the Fair Maid
of Perth ; but somehow, from her lively, troublesome,
and wanton vagaries, they called her the Sow- Cow.
My own riding-horse, a small, sleek, cunning little
bay, a fine hack with excellent paces, called W. A.,
I also had out previously. He would pull on
his bridle all day long to eat, he would even pre-
tend to eat spinifex ; he was now very bad and

288 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

footsore. Gibson and I overtook Mr. Tietkens and
Jimmy, and we pushed on as fast as we could, the
distance we had now to go, not being more than ten
or eleven miles. The sandhills were exceedingly
high and severe, but all the horses got over the last
one.

We were now in full view of the range, with the
Gorge of Tarns not more than five miles away.
But here Diamond and another, Pratt, that I had
out by myself at the stinking pit in November, fell,
never to rise. We took off their packs and left
them on the ground. The thermometer then stood
at 106° in the shade. We pushed on, intending to
return immediately with water to the relief of these
unfortunates. The pack-horses now presented a
demoralised and disorganised rout, travelling in a
long single file, for it was quite impossible to keep
the tail up with the leaders. I shall try to give my
reader some slight idea of them, if description is
sufficiently palpable to do so. The real leader was
an old black mare, blear-eyed from fly-wounds, for
ever dropping tears of salt rheum, fat, large, strong,
having carried her 180 lbs. at starting, and now
desperately thirsty and determined, knowing to an
inch where the water was ; on she went, reaching
the stony slopes about two miles from the water.
Next came a rather herring-gutted, lanky bay horse,
which having been bought at the Peake, I called
Peveril ; he was generally poor, but always able, if
not willing, for his work. Then came a big bay
cob, and an old flea-bitten gray called Buggs, that
got bogged in the Stemodia Viscosa Creek, and a
nuggetty-black harness-horse called Darkie, always
very fat. These last three carried 200 lbs. each at

DESCRIPTION OF THE ANIMALS. 289

Starting. Then Banks, the best saddle-horse I
have, and which I had worked too much in dry
trips before reaching this range ; he was very much
out of sorts and footsore. Then an iron-grey colt,
called Diaway, having been very poor and miserable
when first purchased, but he was a splendid horse.
Then came the sideways-going old crab. Terrible
Billy. He was always getting into the most absurd
predicaments — poor old creature ; got down our
throats at last ! — falling into holes, and up and down
slopes, going at them sideways, without the slightest
confidence in himself, or apparent fear of conse-
quences ; but the old thing always did his work
well enough. Blackie next, a handsome young colt
with a white stripe down his face, and very fast ;
and Formby, a bay that had done excellent harness-
work with Diamond on the road to the Peake ; he
was a great weight-carrier. The next was Hollow
Back, who had once been a fine-paced and good
jumping horse, but now only fit for packing ; he
was very well bred and very game. The next was
Giant Despair, a perfect marvel. He was a chest-
nut, old, large-framed, gaunt, and bony, with screwed
and lately staked feet. Life for him seemed but
one unceasing round of toil, but he was made of
iron ; no distance and no weight was too much for
him. He sauntered along after the leaders, looking
not a whit the worse than when he left the last
water, going neither faster nor slower than his wont.
He was dreadfully destructive with his pack-bags,
for he would never get out of the road for anything
less than a gum-tree. Tommy and Badger, two of
my former expedition horses ; Tommy and Hippy
I bought a second time from Carmichael, when
VOL. I. u

290 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

coming up to the Peake. Tommy was poor, old,
and footsore, the most wonderful horse for his size
in harness I ever saw. Badger, his mate, was a
big ambling cob, able to carry a ton, but the greatest
slug of a horse. I ever came across ; he seems
absolutely to require flogging as a tonic ; he must
be flogged out of camp, and flogged into it again,
mile after mile, day after day, from water and to it.
He was now, as usual, at the tail of the straggling
mob, except Gibsons former riding-horse called
Trew. He was an excellent little horse, but now so
terribly footsore he could scarcely drag himself
along ; he was one of six best of the lot. If I put
them in their order I should say. Banks, the Fair
Maid of Perth, Trew, Guts (W. A.), Diaway,
Blackie and Darkie, Widge, the big cob Buggs —
the flea-bitten grey — Bluey, Badger, who was a fine
ambling saddle-horse, and Tommy ; the rest might
range anyhow. The last horse of all was the poor
little shadow of a cob, the harness-mate of the one
killed at Elders Creek. On reaching the stones
this poor little ghost fell, never again to rise. We
could give him no relief, we had to push on. Guts
gave in on the stones ; I let him go and walked to
the water. I need scarcely say how thirsty we all
were. On reaching the water, and wasting no time,
Mr. Tietkens and I returned to the three fallen
horses, taking with us a supply of water, and using
the Fair Maid, Widge, Formby, and Darkie ; we
went as fast as the horses could go. On reaching
the little cob we found him stark and stiff, his hide
all shrivelled and wrinkled, mouth wide open, and
lips drawn back to an extraordinary extent. Push-
ing on we arrived where Diamond and Pratt had

MO UNT DESTR UCTION. 291

fallen. They also were quite dead, and must have
died immediately after they fell ; they presented the
same appearance as the little cob. Thus my visit
to the North-west Mountain had cost the lives of
four horses, Bluey, Diamond, Pratt, and the cob.
The distance they had to travel was not great — less
than ninety miles — and they were only two nights
without water; but the heat was intense, the
country frightful, and to get over the distance as
soon as possible, we may have travelled rather fast.
The horses had not been well off for either grass
or water at starting, and they were mostly footsore ;
but in the best of cases, and under the most favour-
able start from a water, the ephemeral thread of a
horse s life may be snapped in a moment, in the height
of an Australian summer, in such a region as this,
where that detestable vegetation, the triodia, and
high and rolling sandhills exist for such enormous
distances. The very sight of the country, in all its
hideous terrors clad, is sufficient to daunt a man
and kill a horse. I called the vile mountain which
had caused me this disaster, Mount Destruction, for
a visit to it had destroyed alike my horses and my
hopes. I named the range of which it is the highest
point, Carnarvon Range.

We returned again to the Gorge of Tarns, as Mr.
Tietkens very tritely remarked, sadder but wiser
men. Our position here is by no means enviable,
for although there is plenty of permanent water in
this range, it appears to be surrounded by such
extensive deserts that advance or retreat is equally
difficult, as now I had no water in tanks or other-
wise between this and Fort Mueller, and not a
horse might ever reach that goal. I am again

u 2

292 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

seated under the splashing fountain that falls from
the rocks above, sheltered by the sunless caverns of
this Gorge of Tarns, with a limpid liquid basin of
the purest water at my feet, sheltered from the
heated atmosphere which almost melts the rocks
and sand of the country surrounding us — sitting as I
may well declare in the shadow of a great rock in
a weary land, but we cannot shut out from the
mind the perils we have endured, the perils
we may yet have to endure. For the present our
wants and those of our gallant horses are supplied,
but to the traveller in such a wilderness, when he
once turns his back upon a water, the ever-recurring
question presents itself, of when and where shall I
obtain more ? The explorer is necessarily insatiable
for water ; no quantity can satisfy him, for he
requires it always and in every place. Life for
water he will at any moment give, for water cannot
be done without. Thermometer in outer shade
1 06° ; in the caverns 98°.

We shall have to remain here for a few days.
The bare rocks in this glen and the walls of stone
that form it become so heated during the day that
the nights passed in it are most oppressive. The
rocks have not time to cool before the sun is upon
them again, and at evening, when descending from
the caves, we find the thermometer actually rises in
the night air. In the caves during to-day it was
98°, and at eight o'clock at night outside it was
101°. We are pestered here terribly by flies, but
not plagued by either ants or mosquitoes. This
evening Gibson and Jimmy shot three wallabies.
This range swarms also with pigeons in every gorge
and glen, and they come in clouds at night and

RETURN TO SLA DEN WATER. 293

morning for water. Unfortunately nearly all our
sporting ammunition is gone, though I have a good
supply of defensive. To-day the thermometer in
the caves was only 88°, while in the outside shade
104° the cause being hot winds from the south-
east. While here we shod the most tender-footed
of our horses. There was a good deal of thunder
and lightning. The daytime in this gorge is less
oppressive than the night. The sun does not
appear over the eastern hills until nearly nine
o'clock, and it passes behind the western ones at
about 4.15 P.M. The horses cannot recover well
here, the ground being too stony, and the grass and
herbage too poor ; therefore I shall retreat to the
Pass of the Abencerrages and the pleasant encamp-
ment of Sladen Water. One horse. Tommy, was
still very bad, and had to be left on the road, not
from want of water, but old age and exhaustion.
I sent for him the next day, and he rejoined the
mob. We got back on the 12th of February ; there
was a fine lot of ducks when we arrived, but those
sportsmen Gibson and Jimmy went blazing away as
usual without getting one, wasting the powder and
shot, which has now become such a scarcity, and
losing and making the ducks wild into the bargain.
The birds were so frightened that they split into
several mobs, and only one mob of eight remained
at the pass. I wanted to get these, and went to
some trouble to do so. I first walked away and
got a horse, and riding him bare-backed I drove the
ducks quietly down to the camp water-hole, but the
moment they arrived, I being behind with the
horse, Gibson and Jimmy must needs go blazing
away at them again, although they knew they could

294 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

never hit any of them ; and just as I arrived I heard
the report and saw all the ducks come flying over-
head up the pass. They went up therefore through
the regions of the air singing sweetly as they went,
but I did not sing so sweetly on the occasion. Then
ensued quite a scientific little ornithological lecture
on my part, referring mostly to the order of ducks,
and the species known as wild ones more particu-
larly, and I explained the subject to them in such a
plain and forcible manner that both of them ad-
mitted they quite understood what I was talking
about, which is a great matter for lecturers to
consider, because if, after a forcible harangue, a
speaker's audience is in any way mystified, or not in
touch with him as to the meaning of his remarks,
why, then, his time and labour are both lost ; there-
fore I purposely refrained from any ambiguity, and
delivered my figures of speech and rounded periods
in words suitable for the most ordinary comprehen-
sion, and I really think it had a good effect on both
of them. Of course I addressed them more in
sorrow than in anger, although the loss of eight
ducks was a frightfully heavy one to all of us ; but
I was partially consoled with the thought that they
would have to bear their share of the loss. A few
hours afterwards I went after the ducks again, and
by good fortune bagged six in one shot ; one got
away in the bushes, and the other flew away ; and
he seemed to me to have a very crooked flew at
that. These were the fattest birds I ever ate. We
had a fine supper of ducks, their flavour being
sup(p)er-excellent.

The ants were terribly troublesome at this water-
hole, although we slept on the damp sand ; so we

SWARMS OF PIGEONS. 295

shifted the camp up to the sweet water-hole, and
selected as open a piece of ground as possible, as
I intended the camp to remain here for a week or
two. More thunder and lightning, with great heat
and a few drops of rain. Thermometer, 106°.
There were countless numbers of the little cockatoo
parrots here ; they are very shy, and even when
Gibson or Jimmy lets off a gun at them, a dozen or
two are sure to fall ; it takes some time, however,
before another shot can be had at them. I fancy
they are migrating. The pigeons swarm at night
to water. I intend to visit the ridges which I
mentioned as lying to the south-west, from the west
end of this range. We shod the old black mare,
Diaway, and old Buggs, to take with us. The i8th
of February, 1874, was like to have proved a most
eventful day in my life, for it was very nearly the
termination of it. I was riding Diaway, the colt
just shod ; he is seldom ridden, though a very fine
hack, as he is such a splendid weight-carrier as a
pack-horse ; he is rather skittish, and if anything
goes wrong with his pack, he 11 put it right (on the
ground) almost instantaneously. I was driving all
the horses up to the camp, when one broke from
the mob, and galloped across the creek. There
was a bank of stones about three feet high, which
was hidden by a growth of rushes ; Diaway went
bounding over the great bushes and inequalities
of the channel, and reached the bank without
seeing it, until too late, when he made a bound at,
but fell on the top of, it, rolling over upon me at
the same time. He scrambled up, but left me on
the broad of my back. On my feet were those
wonderful boots before described, with the sixty

296 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

horseshoe nails in each, and it was no wonder that
one of my feet got caught in the stirrup on the off
side of the horse.- It is one of the most horrible
positions that the mind can well imagine, to con-
template being dragged by a horse. I have been
dragged before now, and only escaped by miracles
on each occasion. In this case, Diaway, finding me
attached to him, commenced to lash out his newly-
shod heels at me, bounding away at the same time
into a dense thicket of scrub close by. Mr. Tietkens
and the others seeing the accident came running
up behind, as Diaway and I were departing. For-
tunately I was not dragged far, but was literally
kicked free from and by, the frightened and un-
controlled animal. The continual kickings I re-
ceived — some on my legs and body, but mostly upon
that portion of the frame which it is considered equally
indecorous to present either to a friend or an enemy
— at length bent one or two of the nail-heads which
held me, and, tearing the upper leather off my boot,
which fortunately was old, ripped it off, leaving me
at length free. As I lay on my excoriated back, I
saw Diaway depart without me into the scrub, with
feelings of the most profound delight, although
my transports were considerably lessened by the
agonising sensations I experienced. Mr. Tietkens
helped me to hobble over to the camp in a most
disorganised state, though thanking Providence for
so fortunate an escape. Had Diaway but entered
the scrub not two yards from where I was released,
I could not have existed more than a minute. The
following day Mr. Tietkens was getting everything
ready to go with me to the south-west ridges, though
I had great doubts of my ability to ride, when we

I^ATIVES AGAIN. 297

became aware of the presence of a whole host of
natives immediately below the camp. All the
morning the little dog had been strangely per-
turbed, and we knew by the natives' fires that they
were in our immediate neighbourhood. There was
.so much long grass and tall rushes in the creek
bed, that they could approach very close before
we could possibly see them. So soon as they
found themselves detected, as usual they set up
the most horrible yells, and, running up on the open
ground, sent a flight of spears at us before a rifle
or a gun could be seized, and we had to jump
behind a large bush, that I left standing on purpose,
to escape. Our stand of arms was there, and we
immediately seized them, sending the bullets flying
just above their heads and at their feet. The report
of the weapons and the whirring sound of the
swiftly passing shots made them pause, and they
began an harangue, ordering us out of their terri-
tories, to the south. Seeing us, however, motion-
less and silent, their courage returned, and again
they advanced, uttering their war cries with renewed
energy. Again the spears would have been amongst
us ; but I, not relishing even the idea of barbed
spears being stuck through my body, determined
not to permit either my own or any of my
party's lives to be lost for the sake of not dis-
charging my firearms. Consequently we at length
succeeded in causing a rout, and driving the enemy
away. There were a great number of natives in
the bushes, besides those who attacked us. There
were not many oldish men among them, only one
with grey hair. I am reminded here to mention
that in none of my travels in these western wilds

298 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

have I found any places of sepulture of any kind.
The graves are not consumed by the continual
fires that the natives keep up in their huntings,
for that would likewise be the fate of their old
and deserted gunyahs, which we meet with fre-
quently, and which are neither all nor half destroyed.
Even if the natives put no boughs or sticks upon
their graves, we must see some mounds or signs of
burial-places, if not of bones or skulls. My opinion
is, that these people eat their aged ones, and most
probably those who die from natural causes also.

It was a cool, breezy day, ancl, in consequence of
the hostile action of the natives, I did not depart on
the south-west excursion. 1 was not sorry to delay
my departure, for I was in great pain all over. I
now decided to leave Mr. Tietkens and take Jimmy
with me. I cannot say I anticipate making any
valuable discovery on this trip ; for had there been
ranges of any elevation to the westward, or beyond
the ridges in question, I should in all probability
have seen them from the end of this range, and
should have visited them in preference to Mount
Destruction. I felt it incumbent on me to visit
them, however, as from them I might obtain a
view of some encouraging features beyond.

LEA VE THE DEPOT, 299

CHAPTER VIII.

FROM 20TH FEBRUARY TO I2TH MARCH, 1 8 74.

Journey south-west — Glens and springs — Rough watering-place
— A marble bath — Glassy rocks — Swarms of ants — Solitary
tree — An oven — Terrible night — And day — Wretched
appearance of the horses — Mountains of sand — Hopeless
view — Speculations — In great pain — Horses in agony —
Difficulty in watering them — Another night of misery —
Dante's Inferno — The waters of oblivion — Return to the
pass — Dinner of carrion — A smoke-house — A tour to the east
— Singular pinnacle — Eastern ranges — A gum creek — Basins
of water — Natives all around — Teocallis — Horrid rites — A
chip of the old block — A wayside inn — Gordon's Springs.

Taking Jimmy and three horses, we travelled, after
clearing the pass, on the south slopes of the range
westward, crossing several small creek-channels,
which might or might not have waters in them.
At twelve miles we came to a green-looking channel
and found water, running so far down as a rocky
hole, near where we crossed. We outspanned here
for an hour, as I found riding very severe toil after
my late kicking. I named this secluded but pretty
little spot. Glen Helen. It was very rough travel-
ling ground — worse than on the northern side of the
range. Three miles farther, we crossed another
running water, and called it Edith Hull's Springs.
At ten miles farther, after crossing several channels,
we turned up one, and got some water in a very
rough and stony gorge off the main channel, which

300 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

was dry. There was very poor feed, but we were
compelled to remain, as there was no other creek in
sight for some miles, and the horses, although shod,
could only travel slowly over the terribly rough
ground. When we turned them out, they preferred
to stand still, rather than roam about among the
rocks and boulders for food. The day was cool ;
the southern horizon, the only one we could see,
was bounded entirely by red sandhills and casuarina
timber. The horses ate nothing all night, and
stood almost where they were hobbled.

In this region, and in the heat of summer, the
moment horses, no matter how fat and fresh they
may be, are taken away from their companions to
face the fearful country that they kr^ow is before
them, they begin to fret and fall away visibly.
They will scarcely eat, and get all the weaker in
consequence, and then they require twice as much
water as they otherwise would if their insides were
partly filled with grass. When I released our three
from the hobbles this morning, they immediately
pretended to feed ; but this old ruse has been
experienced before, and time was now up, to move
on again. They were very thirsty, and nearly
emptied the rock basin, where we had a kind of
bath before starting. Along the foot-hills over
which we were obliged to travel, the country was
much rougher than yesterday ; so much so, that I
kept away as much as possible. At twenty miles
we turned up a creek-channel, which proved to
be a dreadful gorge, being choked up with huge
boulders of red and white granite. Among these I
found a fine rock tarn ; indeed, I might call it a
marble bath, for the rock was almost pure white,

300 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

In this region, and in the heat of summer, the
moment horses, no matter how fat and fresh they
may be, are taken away from their companions to
face the fearful country that they know is before
them, they begin to fret and fall away visibly.
They will scarcely eat, and get all the weaker in
consequence, and then they require twice as much
water as they otherwise would if their insides were
partly filled with grass. When I released our three
from the hobbles this morning, they immediately
pretended to feed ; but this old ruse has been
experienced before, and time was now up, to move
on again. They were very thirsty, and nearly
emptied the rock basin, where we had a kind of
bath before starting. Along the foot-hills over
which we were obliged to travel, the country was
much rougher than yesterday ; so much so, that I
kept away as much as possible. At twenty miles
we turned up a creek-channel, which proved to
be a dreadful gorge, being choked up with huge
boulders of red and white granite. Among these I
found a fine rock tarn ; indeed, I might call it a
marble bath, for the rock was almost pure white,

300 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

In this region, and in the heat of summer, the
moment horses, no matter how fat and fresh they
may be, are taken away from their companions to
face the fearful country that they ki^ow is before
them, they begin to fret and fall away visibly.
They will scarcely eat, and get all the weaker in
consequence, and then they require twice as much
water as they otherwise would if their insides were
partly filled with grass. When I released our three
from the hobbles this morning, they immediately
pretended to feed ; but this old ruse has been
experienced before, and time was now up, to move
on again. They were very thirsty, and nearly
emptied the rock basin, where we had a kind of
bath before starting. Along the foot-hills over
which we were obliged to travel, the country was
much rougher than yesterday ; so much so, that I
kept away as much as possible. At twenty miles
we turned up a creek-channel, which proved to
be a dreadful gorge, being choked up with huge
boulders of red and white granite. Among these I
found a fine rock tarn ; indeed, I might call it a
marble bath, for the rock was almost pure white,

300 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

was dry. There was very poor feed, but we were
compelled to remain, as there was no other creek in
sight for some miles, and the horses, although shod,
could only travel slowly over the terribly roug^
ground. When we turned them out, they preferred
to stand still, rather than roam about among the
rocks and boulders for food. The day was cool ;
the southern horizon, the only one we could sec,
was bounded entirely by red sandhills and casuarina
timber. The horses ate nothing all night, and
stood almost where they were hobbled.

In this region, and in the heat of summer, the
moment horses, no matter how fat and fresh they
may be, are taken away from their companions to
face the fearful country that they know is before
them, they begin to fret and fall away visibly.
They will scarcely eat, and get all the weaker in
consequence, and then they require twice as much
water as they otherwise would if their insides were
partly filled with grass. When I released our three
from the hobbles this morning, they immediately
pretended to feed ; but this old ruse has been
experienced before, and time was now up, to move
on again. They were very thirsty, and nearly
emptied the rock basin, where we had a kind of
bath before starting. Along the foot-hills over
which we were obliged to travel, the country was
much rougher than yesterday; so much so, that I
kept away as much as possible. At twenty miles
we turned up a creek-channel, which proved to
be a dreadful gorge, being choked up with huge
boulders of red and white granite. Among these I
found a fine rock tarn ; indeed, I might call it a
marble bath, for the rock was almost pure white.

A WRETCHED PLACE. 301

and perfectly bare all round. The water was con-
siderably over our heads, and felt as cold as ice.
It was a dreadful place to get horses up to, and
two of them fell two or three times on the glassy,
shelving, and slippery rocks. The old grey, Buggs,
hurt himself a good deal.

Time seems to fly in these places, except when
you want it to do so, and by the time the horses
got down from the water the day was nearly gone.
The feed for them was very little better than at
our last night's camp, nor was the glen any less
stony or rough. The day was 12° hotter than
yesterday ; the thermometer indicated 104°. The
ants in this glen were frightful ; they would not
allow me a moment's rest anywhere. There was
but one solitary eucalyptus or gum-tree, and in its
scanty shade they swarmed in countless myriads.
The sun poured his fiery beams full down upon us,
and it was not until he departed over the cliffs to
the west that we had a moment's respite ; the place
was a perfect oven.

I passed the time mostly in the marble bath, and
then took a walk up to the top of the range and
could see the hills I desired to visit ; they now bore
nearly south-west. So long as the sun's rays were
pouring down upon their unsheltered hides, the
horses would not attempt to eat, but when he
departed they fed a little on the coarse vegetation.
This glen, like all the others in this range, swarmed
with pigeons, and we got enough for breakfast at
one shot. During the hot months, I believe whites
could live entirely on pigeons in this range. At the
camp at Sladen Water they came to the water in
clouds, their very numbers sometimes preventing

302 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

us getting a good shot, and we had been living
entirely on them, for now we had no other meat.
Unfortunately, our ammunition is almost exhausted,
but so long as it lasts we shall have birds. When
it is gone we must eat horseflesh, and should have
been driven to do so before now, only for these
birds. I have an old horse now fattening for the
knife, and I am sorry, i.e. happy, to say, whenever I
inspect him he looks better. The one I mean is
the old sideways-going Terrible Billy. Poor old
creature ! to work so many years as he has done for
man, and then to be eaten at last, seems a hard
fate ; but who or what can escape that inexorable
shadow, death ?

It may be the destiny of some of ourselves to be
eaten ; for I fully believe the natives of these regions
look upon all living organisms as grist for their
insatiable mills. As night came on, I was com-
pelled to lie down at last, but was so bitten and
annoyed by the ants, that I had to keep moving about
from place to place the whole night long, while the
[in]sensible Jimmy lay sleeping and snoring, though
swarmed over and almost carried away by the ants,
as peacefully as though he had gone to rest under
the canopy of costly state, and lulled with sounds of
sweetest melody. I could not help moralising, as
I often stood near him, wondering at his peace and
placidity, upon the differences of our mental and
physical conditions : here was one human being,
young and strong, certainly, sleeping away the, to
me, dreary hours of night, regaining that necessary
vigour for the toils of the coming day, totally
oblivious of swarms of creeping insects, that not
only crawled all over him, but constantly bit into

HOURS OF TORTURE. 303

his flesh ; while another, who prided himself perhaps
too much upon the mental powers bestowed by
God upon him, was compelled by the same insects
to wander through the whole night, from rock to
rock and place to place, unable to remain for more
than a moment or two anywhere ; and to whom
sleep, under such circumstances, was an utter im-
possibility. Not, indeed, that the loss of sleep
troubles me, for if any one could claim to be called
the sleepless one, it wduld be I — that is to say,
when engaged in these arduous explorations, and
curtained by night and the stars ; but, although I
can do without sleep, I require a certain amount of
horizontal repose, and this I could not obtain in
this fearful glen. It was, therefore, with extreme
pleasure that I beheld the dawn, and —

" To the eastward where, cluster by cluster.
Dim stars and dull planets that muster,
Waxing wan in a world of white lustre,
That spread far an<i high."

No human being could have been more pleased
than I at the appearance of another day, although I
was yet doomed to several hours more misery in
this dreadful gorge. The pigeons shot last night
were covered within and without by ants, although
they had been put in a bag. The horses looked
wretched, even after watering, and I saw that it was
actually necessary to give them a day's rest before
I ventured with them into the frightful sandhills
which I could see intervened between us and the
distant ridges. Truly the hours I spent in this
hideous gorge were hours of torture ; the sun

304 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

roasted us, for there was no shade whatever to
creep into ; the rocks and stones were so heated that
we could neither touch, nor sit upon them, and the
ants were more tormenting than ever. I almost
crifed aloud for the mountains to fall upon me, and
the rocks to cover me. I passed several hours in
the marble bath, the only place the ants could not
encroach upon, though they swarmed round the
edge of the water. But in the water itself were
numerous little fiendish water-beetles, and these
creatures bit one almost as badly as the ants. In
the bath I remained until I was almost benumbed
by the cold. Then the sunshine and the heat in
the gorge would seem delightful for a few minutes,
till I became baked with heat again. The ther-
mometer stood at 1 06° in the shade of the only tree.
At three p.m. the horses came up to water. I was
so horrified with the place I could no longer remain,
though Jimmy sat, and probably slept, in the scanty
one tree's shade, and seemed to pass the time as
comfortably as though he were in a fine house. In
going up to the water two of the horses again fell
and hurt themselves, but the old blear-eyed mare
never slipped or fell. At four p.m. we mounted,
and rode down the glen until we got clear of the
rough hills, when we turned upon our proper course
for the ridges, which, however, we could not see.
In two or three miles we entered the sandhill regions
once more, when it soon rose into hills. The triodia
was as thick and strong as it could grow. The
country was not, so to say, scrubby, there being
only low bushes and scrubs on the sandhills, and
casuarina trees of beautiful outline and appearance

PLUNGING THROUGH SAND MOUNTAINS, 305

in the hollows. When the horses got clear of the
stones they began to eat everything they could
snatch and bite at.

At fifteen miles from the gorge we encamped on
a patch of dry grass. The horses fed pretty well
for a time, until the old mare began to think it time
to be off, and she soon would have led the others
back to the range. She dreaded this country, and
knew well by experience and instinct what agony
was in store for her. Jimmy got them back and
short-hobbled them. There were plenty of ants
here, but nothing to be compared to the number in
the gorge, and having to remove my blankets only
three or four times, I had a most delightful night's
rest, although, of course, I did not sleep. The
horses were sulky and would not eat ; therefore
they looked as hollow as drums, and totally unfit to
traverse the ground that was before them. How-
ever, this had to be done, or at least attempted, and
we got away early. We were in the midst of the
sandhills, and here they rose almost into mountains
of sand. It was most fatiguing to the horses, the
thermometer 104° in the shade when we rested at
twenty-two miles. Nor was this the hottest time of
the day. We had been plunging through the sand
mountains, and had not sighted the ridges, for
thirty-seven miles, till at length we found the nearest
were pretty close to us. They seemed very low,
and quite unlikely to produce water. Reaching the
first, we ascended it, and I could see at a glance
that any prospect of finding water was utterly hope-
less, as these low ridges, which ran north and south,
were merely a few oblique-lying layers of upheaved
granite, not much higher than the sandhills which

VOL. I. X

.^o6 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

surrounded them, and there was no place where
water could lodge even during rains. Not a rise
could be seen in any direction, except, of course,
from where we had come. We went on west five
or six miles farther to the end of these, just about
sundown : and long, indeed, will that peculiar sun-
set rest in my recollection. The sun as usual was
a huge and glaring ball of fire that with his last
beams shot hot and angry glances of hate at us, in
rage at our defiance of his might. It was so strange
and so singular that only at this particular sunset,
out of the millions which have elapsed since this
terrestrial ball first floated in ether, that I, or indeed
any while man, should stand upon this wretched
hill, so remote from the busy haunts of my fellow
men. My speculations upon the summit, if, indeed,
so insignificant a mound can be said to have a
summit, were as wild and as incongruous as the
regions which stretched out before me. In the
first place I could only conclude that no water could
exist in this region, at least as far as the sand beds
extend. I was now, though of course some distance
to the south also, about thirty miles to the west of
the most western portion of the Rawlinson Range.

From that range no object had been visible above
the sandhills in any westerly direction, except these
ridges I am now upon, and from these, if any other
ranges or hills anywhere within a hundred miles of
the Rawlinson existed, I must have sighted tjiem.
The inference to be drawn in such a case was, that
in all probability this kind of country would remain
unaltered for an enormous distance, possibly to the
very banks of the Murchison River itself. The
question very naturally arose. Could the country be

A MAZE OF THOUGHT. 307

penetrated by man, with only horses at his com-
mand, particularly at such a heated time of year ?
Oh, would that I had camels ! what are horses in
such a region and such a heated temperature as
this ? The animals are not physically capable of
enduring the terrors of this country. I was now
scarcely a hundred miles from the camp, and the
horses had had plenty of water up to nearly half-
way, but now they looked utterly unable to return.
What a strange maze of imagination the mind can
wander in when recalling the names of those sepa-
rated features, the only ones at present known to
supply water in this latitude — that is to say, the
Murchison River, and this new-found Rawlinson
Range, named after two Presidents of the Royal
Geographical Society of London. The late and
the present, the living and the dead, physically and
metaphysically also, are not these features, as the
men, separated alike by the great gulf of the un-
known, by a vast stretch of that undiscovered
country from whose bourne no traveller returns ?

The sun went down, and I returned to my youth-
ful companion with the horses below. We were
fifty-one miles from the water we had left. The
horses were pictures of misery, old Buggs s legs had
swelled greatly from the contusions he had received
in falling on the slippery rocks. The old black
mare which I rode, though a sorry hack, looked
worse than I had ever seen her before, and even
the youthful and light-heeled and hearted Diaway
hung his head, and one could almost span him
round the flanks. The miserable appearance of the
animals was caused as much by want of food as
want of water, for they have scarcely eaten a mouth-

X 2

3o8 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

ful since we left the pass ; indeed, all they had seen
to eat was not inviting.

We slowly left these desolate ridges behind, and
at fifteen miles we camped, Jimmy and I being
both hungry and thirsty. Our small supply of
water only tantalised, without satisfying us when-
ever we took a mouthful. We now found we had
nothing to eat, at least nothing cooked, and we had
to sacrifice a drop of our stock of water \Jb make a
Johnny-cake. It was late by the time we had eaten
our supper, and I told Jimmy he had better go to
sleep if he felt inclined ; I then caught and tied up
the horses, which had already rambled some distance
away. When I got back I found Jimmy had literally
taken me at my word ; for there he was fast asleep
among the coals and ashes of the fire, in which we
had cooked our cake. I rolled him over once or
twice to prevent him catching fire, but he did not
awake The night was very warm ; I tried to lay
down on my rug, but I was in such pain all over
from my recent accident, that I could not remain still.
I only waited to allow Jimmy a little sleep, or else
he would have fallen off his horse, and caused more
delay. I walked to, and tried to console, the horses.
Sleepless and restless, I could no longer remain.

Fast asleep is Armor lying — do not touch him, do
not wake him ; but Armor had to be awakened.
But first I saddled and put up everything on the
horses. Jimmy's lips were cracked and parched, and
his tongue dry and half out of his mouth ; I thought
the kindest way to wake him was to pour a little
water into his mouth. Up he jumped in a moment,
and away we went at three o'clock in the morning,
steering by the stars until daylight ; slowly moving

SUFFERINGS OF THE HORSES. 309

over sandhill after sandhill. Soon after sunrise
we fell in with our outgoing track, and continued
on, though we had great trouble to keep the horses
going at all, until we reached our old encampment
of the night before last, being now only fifteen
miles from the water. For the last few miles the
horses had gone so dreadfully slow, I thought they
would give in altogether. So soon as they were
unsaddled they all lay down, shivering and groaning
fearfully.

To see a horse in a state of great thirst is terrible,
the natural cavity opens to an extraordinary size,
and the creature strains and makes the most lament-
able noises. Mares are generally worse in these
cases than horses. Old Buggs and the mare were
nearly dead. Diaway suffered less than the others.
We had yet a small quantity of water in our bag,
and it was absolutely necessary to sacrifice it to the
horses if we wished them ever to return. We had
but three pints, which we gave to Buggs and the
mare, Diaway getting none. What the others got was
only just enough to moisten their tongues. Leaving
this place at eleven a.m., we reached the gorge at
sundown, travelling at the rate of only two miles an
hour. The day was hot, 104° at eleven a.ivi. When
we took the saddles off the horses, they fell, as they
could only stand when in motion — old Buggs fell
again in going up the gorge ; they all fell, they were
so weak, and it took nearly an hour to get them up
to the bath. They were too weak to prevent them-
selves from slipping in, swimming and drinking at
the same time ; at last old Buggs touched the bottom
with his heels, and stood upon his hind-legs with his
fore-feet against the rock wall, and his head bent

3IO AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

down between, and drank thus. I never saw a horse
drink in that fashion before.

It was very late when we got them back to the
camp-tree, where we let them go without hobbles.
The ants were as rampant as ever, and I passed
another night in walking up and down the glen.
Towards midnight the horses came again for water,
but would not return, preferring to remain till morn-
ing rather than risk a passage down in the dark.

I went right up to the top of the mountain, and
got an hours peace before the sun rose. In the
morning all the horses' legs were puffed and swelled,
and they were frightened to move from the water.
I had great trouble in getting them down at all.
It was impossible to ride them away, and here we
had to remain for another day, in this Inferno.
Not Dante's, gelid lowest circle of Hell, or city of
Dis, could cause more anguish, to a forced resident
within its bounds, than did this frightful place to
me. Even though Moses did omit to inflict ants
on Pharaoh, it is a wonder Dante never thought to
have a region of them full of wicked wretches,
eternally tortured with their bites, and stings, and
smells. Dante certainly was good at imagining
horrors. But imagination can't conceive the horror
of a region swarming with ants ; and then Dante
never lived in an ant country, and had no concep-
tion what torture such creatures can inflict. The
smaller they are the more terrible. My only con-
consolation here was my marble bath, which the
horses had polluted ; within its cool and shady
depths I could alone find respite from my tormentors.
Oh, how earnestly did I wish that its waters were
the waters of oblivion, or that I could quaff some

EDITHS MA RBLE BA TH, 311

kind nepenthe, which would make me oblivious of
my woes, for the persistent attacks of the ants
unceasingly continued

" From night till mom, from mom till dewy eve."

Here of course we had no dewy eve. Only one slight
source of pleasure at length occurred to me, and
that was, that Jimmy began to shift about a bit at
last. On the 26th, with what delight I departed
from this odious gorge after another night of rest-
lessness, agony, and misery, may perhaps be
imagined, though of course I was indebted to the
glen for water, and unless we actually give up our
lives, we cannot give up that. There was a good
deal of water in this bath, as may be supposed when
horses could swim about in it. I called it Edith's
Marble Bath, after my niece, having named Glen
Edith also after her on my former expedition. The
stone here is not actually marble, though very like
it. I saw no limestone in this range ; the only
approach to it is in the limestone formation in the
bed of the ancient Lake Christopher, mentioned as
lying to the west of the Rawlinson Range. The
stone here was a kind of milky quartz. We kept
away as much as possible off the rough slopes of the
range, and got to Glen Helen at night, but old Buggs
knocked up, and we had to lead, beat, and drive
him on foot, so that it was very late before we got
to the glen. We got all three horses back to the
pass early the next day. No natives had appeared,
but the horses had never been seen since I left.
Oh, didn't I sleep that night ! no ants. Oh, happi-
ness ! I hadn't slept for a week.

The next day, the 28th of February, Gibson and

312 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

Jimmy went to look for the mob of horses. There
was a watering-place about two miles and a half south
from here, where emus used to water, and where
the horses did likewise ; there they found all the
horses. There was a very marked improvement in
their appearance, they had thriven splendidly.
There is fine green feed here, and it is a capital
place for an explorers depot, it being such an
agreeable and pretty spot. Gibson and Jimmy went
to hunt for emus, but we had none for supper. We
got a supply of pigeons for breakfast. Each day we
more deeply lament that the end of our ammunition
is at hand. For dinner we got some hawks, crows,
and parrots. I don't know which of these in
particular disagreed with me, but I suppose the
natural antipathy of these creatures to one another,
when finding themselves somewhat crowded in my
interior, was casus belli enough to set them quar-
relling even after death and burial ; all I knew
was the belli was going on in such a peculiar manner
that I had to abandon my dinner almost as soon as I
had eaten it. It is now absolutely necessary to kill
a horse for food, as our ammunition is all but gone.
Mr. Tietkens and I went to find a spot to erect a
smoke-house, which required a soft bank for a flue ;
we got a place half a mile away. Thermometer
104°. Mr. Tietkens and I commenced operations
at the smoke-house, and the first thing we did was
to break the axe handle. Gibson, who thought he
was a carpenter, blacksmith, and jack-of-all-trades
by nature, without art, volunteered to make a
new one, to which no one objected. The new
handle lasted until the first sapling required was
almost cut in two, when the new handle came

A JO URNE Y EASTWARDS. 3 1 3

in two also ; so we had to return to the camp,
while Gibson made another handle on a new
principle. With this we worked while Gibson
and Jimmy shod a couple of horses. A pair of
poking brutes of horses are always away by them-
selves, and Mr. Tietkens and I went to look for,
but could not find them. We took the shovel and
filled up the emu water-hole with sand, so that the
horses had to show themselves with the others at
the pass at night. For two or three days we shod
horses, shot pigeons, and worked at the smoke-
house. I did not like the notion of killing any of
the horses, and determined to make a trip east-
wards, to see what the country in that direction was
like. We chopped up some rifle bullets for shot, to
enable Gibson and Jimmy to remain while we were
away, as a retreat to Fort Mueller from here was
a bitter idea to me. Before I can attempt to
penetrate to the west, I must wait a change in the
weather. The sky was again becoming cloudy, and
I had hopes of rain at the approaching equinox.

The three horses we required for the trip we put
down through the north side of the pass. On
March loth, getting our horses pretty easily, we
started early. As soon as we got clear of the pass
on the north side, almost immediately in front of
us was another pass, lying nearly east, which we
reached in five miles. I called this the Weld Pass.
From hence we had a good view of the country
farther east. A curved line of abrupt-faced hills
traversed the northern horizon ; they had a peculiar
and wall-like appearance, and seemed to end at a
singular-looking pinnacle thirty-four or five miles
away, and lying nearly east. This abrupt-faced

314 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED,

range swept round in a half circle, northwards, and
thence to the pinnacle. We travelled along the
slopes of the Rawlinson Range, thinking we might
find some more good gorges before it ended, we
being now nearly opposite the Alice Falls. One or
two rough and stony gullies, in which there was no
water, existed ; the country was very rough. I
found the Rawlinson Range ended in fifteen or
sixteen miles, at the Mount Russell* mentioned
before. Other ranges rose up to the east ; the inter-
vening country seemed pretty well filled with scrub.
We pushed on for the pinnacle in the northern line,
but could not reach it by night as we were delayed
en route by searching in several places for water.
The day was hot, close, cloudy, and sultry. In
front of us now the country became very scrubby
as we approached the pinnacle, and for about three
miles it was almost impenetrable. We had to stop
several times and chop away limbs and boughs to
get through, when we emerged on the bank of a
small gum creek, and, turning up its channel, soon
saw some green rushes in the bed. A little further
up we saw more, brighter and greener, and amongst
them a fine little pond of waten Farther up, the
rocks rose in walls, and underneath them we found
a splendid basin of overflowing water, which filled
several smaller ones below. We could hear the
sound of splashing and rushing waters, but could
not see from whence those sounds proceeded.
This was such an excellent place that we decided to
remain for the rest of the day. The natives were
all round us, burning the country, and we could
hear their cries. This morning we had ridden
through two fresh fires, which they lit, probably, to

DRIPPING FOUNTAINS. 315

prevent our progress ; they followed us up to this
water. I suppose they were annoyed at our finding
such a remarkably well-hidden place. It is a very
singular little glen. There are several small
mounds of stones placed at even distances apart,
and, though the ground was originally all stones,
places like paths have been cleared between them.
There was also a large, bare, flat rock in the centre of
these strange heaps, which were not more than two
and a half feet high. I concluded — it may be said
uncharitably, but then I know some of the ways and
customs of these people — that these are small kinds
of teocallis, and that on the bare rock already
mentioned the natives have performed, and will
again perform, their horrid rites of human butchery,
and that the drippings of the pellucid fountains from
the rocky basins above have been echoed and
re-echoed by the dripping fountains of human gore
from the veins and arteries of their bound and
helpless victims. Though the day was hot, the
shade and the water were cool, and we could
indulge in a most luxurious bath. The largest
basin was not deep, but the water was running in
and out of it, over the rocks, with considerable force.
We searched about to discover by its sound from
whence it came, and found on the left-hand side a
crevice of white quartz-like stone, where the water
came down from the upper rocks, and ran away
partly into the basins and partly into rushes, under
our feet. On the sloping face of the white rock,
and where the water ran down, was a small indent
or smooth chip exactly the size of a person's mouth,
so that we instinctively put our lips to it, and drank
of the pure and gushing element. I firmly believe

3i6 AUSTRALIA TWICE TRAVERSED.

this chip out of the rock has been formed by
successive generations of the native population, for
ages placing their mouths to and drinking at this
spot ; but whether in connection with any sacrificial
ceremonies or no, deponent knoweth, and sayeth not.
The poet Spenser, more than three hundred years
ago, must have visited this spot — at least, in
imagination, for see how he describes it : —

" And fast beside there trickled softly down,
A gentle stream, whose murmuring waves did play
Amongst the broken stones, and made a sowne,
To lull him fast asleep, who by it lay :
The weary traveller wandering that way
Therein might often quench his thirsty heat,
And then by it, his weary limbs display ;
(Whiles creeping slumber made him to forget
His former pain), and wash away his toilsome sweat."

There is very poor grazing ground round this
water. It is only valuable as a wayside inn, or out.
I called the singular feature which points out
this water to the wanderer in these western wilds,
Gill's Pinnacle, after my brother-in-law, and the
water, Gordon's Springs, after his son. In the
middle of the night, rumblings of thunder were
heard, and lightnings illuminated the glen. When
we were starting on the following morning, some
aborigines made their appearance, and vented their
delight at our appearance here by the emission of
several howls, yells, gesticulations, and indecent
actions, and, to hem us in with a circle of fire,
to frighten us out, or roast us to death, they set
fire to the triodia all round. We rode through the
flames, and away.

( 317 )

INDEX.

Albkrga Creek, 7, 139, 143
Alice Falls, the, 258
Aloysius, Mount, 199
An expanse of salt, 97
Anthony Range, 149
Ants and their nests, 66
Ayers's Range, 160

Bagot's Creek, 112
Barlee, Mount, 270
Bell Rock, 200
Bitter Water Creek, 218
Black family, a, 129

oak, 51

Brachychiton, 72
Briscoe's Pass, 126
Butterflies, 190
Buttfield, Mount, 270

Callitris, 22, 43, 74
Canis familiaris, 68
Capparis, 38
Carnarvon, Mount, 170

Range, 291

Carmichael Creek, 39
Carmichael's Crag, 1 10
Casuarina Decaisneana, 10, iSS
Chambers's Pillar, 9
Champ de Mars, 198
Chandler's Range, 16
Charlotte Waters Station, 7
Christmas Day, 249
Christopher's Pinnacle, 16
Christy Bagot's Creek, 194
Circus, the, 229
Clay crabholc, a, 256

pans, 39, 102

Clianthus Damperii, the, 212

Cob, the, 215

Codonocarpus cotinifolius, 67, 146

Colonel's Range, 228

Conner, Mount, 169

Corkwood-tree, 66

Cups, the, 211

Curious mound-springs, 9

Currajong-tree, 72

Currie, The, 181

Cumming, Glen, 267

Davenport, Mount, 182
Desert oak, 188
Desolation Creek, 272

Glen, 271

Destruction, Mount, 258, 291

Dog- puppies, 113

Diamond bird (Amadina), 69, 95

Eagle-hawk, 68
Earthquake, a shock, 240
Edith, Glen, 84

Hull's Springs, 299

Edith's Marble Bath, 311
Ehrenberg Ranges, 64
Elder's Creek, 228
EUery's Creek, 29
Emus, 161
Emu Tank, 255
Encounter Creek, 180
Escape Glen, 123
Eucalypts, 73
Everard Range, 169

Fairies' Glen, 183
Ferdinand Creek, 174

, Glen, 1 74

, Mount, 174

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