Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake Volume Ii Part 9

The rain continued throughout the day.

June 21 and 22.

The rain still continued. Two of our horses were found bogged in a creek near the camp, but were soon released without injury; they had strayed into the creek to eat the aquatic gra.s.s, which is plentiful on almost all the creeks between the swamps and the sea. The soil here was rather stiffer than we had found it before, being a light sandy loam, and in places clayey. There were not so many sh.e.l.ls to be seen, and what there were, were princ.i.p.ally bivalves.

Mr. Kennedy returned this evening, and having again found it impossible to cross the swamps, we were obliged to return to the beach, where the travelling was far better than among the trees. While travelling inland a man was always obliged to walk before the carts, to cut down small trees.

At this time we had only two meals per day; breakfast at daylight, and dinner when we had completed our day's work, and camped. The time for dinner was therefore irregular, depending on the nature of the country over which we travelled. Some days we dined at one o'clock, on others not till dark. Whenever any birds were shot, they were boiled for supper; but as yet we had killed very few.

Mr. Kennedy appeared to be, in every respect, admirably fitted for the leader of an expedition of this character. Although he had innumerable difficulties and hards.h.i.+ps to contend with, he always appeared cheerful, and in good spirits. Travelling through such a country as we were in, such a disposition was essential to the success of the expedition. He was always diverting the minds of his followers from the obstacles we daily encountered, and encouraging them to hope for better success; careful in all his observations and calculations, as to the position of his camp, and cautious not to plunge into difficulties, without personal observation of the country, to enable him to take the safest path. But having decided, he pursued his deliberate determination with steady perseverance, sharing in the labour of cutting through the scrub, and all the hara.s.sment attendant on travelling through such a wilderness, with as much (or greater) alacrity and zeal as any of his followers. It was often grievous to me to hear some of the party observe, after we had pa.s.sed over some difficult tract, that a better road might have been found, a little to the right or to the left. Such observations were the most unjust and vexatious, as in all matters of difficulty and of opinion, he would invariably listen to the advice of all, and if he thought it prudent, take it. For my own part, I can safely say, that I was always ready to obey his orders, and conform to his directions, confident as I then was of his abilities to lead us to the place of our destination as speedily as possible.

June 23.

We started early this morning, and proceeded along the beach till we came to a small river, which was narrow and shallow, but the bottom being muddy, and it being low-water, we diverged towards the sea, where the sand was firmer, and there crossed it with little difficulty, without unloading the packhorses or carts. The tide runs but a short distance up this river, and as far as the tide goes it is fringed with a belt of mangroves. The banks are muddy, and so soft that a man sinks up to his knees in walking along them. A little above the mangroves the river divides into several small creeks, in swampy ground, covered with small melaleucas so thickly, that although they are not at all bushy below, but have straight trunks of from three to five inches in diameter, and from ten to twenty feet high, a man can scarcely walk between them.

After crossing this river we again turned inland for a short distance, and camped by the side of a small river south of the last; with steep gra.s.sy banks on the north side, overhung by Tristanias and arborescent Callistemons. On the south side grew mangroves, and the large blue-flowered Ruellia seen at our first camp. The tide ran up to our camp, the fresh water coming from the north-west. There were plenty of waterholes in the valley, between the river and the higher sandy ground.

The gra.s.s here consisted princ.i.p.ally of Agrostis, near the river, where the land is occasionally inundated, and of Uniola, a little further back, growing in tufts. On the sandy ridges, however, there was little else than Xanthorrhoea, Xerotes, and Restio (rope gra.s.s). Here we saw a great many native companions (Grus antigone), and swamp pheasants (Centropus phasia.n.u.s).

June 24.

Mr. Kennedy and a party of five men again proceeded to examine the swamps, but returned without finding any practicable way of crossing.

June 25.

We started early this morning, proceeding towards the beach in a southerly direction, the river turning again south by west, and camped after travelling over five or six miles of rotten and rather sandy ground.

June 26.

We proceeded along the beach till we came to a small river, most probably the same we left yesterday, which we attempted to cross in the same manner as we had done the one on the 23rd, but unfortunately the horses and carts sank so deeply into the mud that they were completely set fast.

We were now obliged to unload, and carry the goods ash.o.r.e. Some of the flour-bags fell into the water, but were quickly taken out--very little damaged. We had great difficulty in getting the carts out of the mud.

A number of natives had accompanied us all day, and pointed out to us the best place to cross the river. Some of them also a.s.sisted us in carrying our things across, while one or two attempted petty thefts. I caught one with two straps belonging to a saddle, and a pair of Mr. Kennedy's spurs in his basket, which I took from him and sent him away. Many of these natives were painted all over with a sort of red earth, but none of them had visited us armed with spears for several days past. Some of them had learned to address several of our party by name, and seemed pleased when they received an answer. We frequently made them small presents, and endeavoured to impress upon them the anxiety we felt to remain on friendly terms with them.

After having crossed the river we turned inland; cutting our way through a belt of mangrove scrub, about half a mile wide; we got the carts through with comparative ease, the ground being harder than usual. We camped on a rising ground, with good gra.s.s around us, by the side of a small creek running here almost parallel with the beach, and coming from the westward. At this camp I obtained seeds of a dwarf spreading tree, with alternate, exstipulate, pinnate leaves, and axillary racemes of a round flattened fruit, similar in size and shape to the small blue fig cultivated in gardens, of a dark purple colour, and possessing a flavour similar to an Orleans plum when hardly ripe, with a hard rough stone inside.

June 27.

We proceeded about five miles in a westerly direction, pa.s.sing over two small creeks running to the south-east. The country here appeared to be gradually rising, and the land to be growing drier; and we now hoped to be enabled to prosecute our journey without any great obstruction from the swamps.

June 28.

Proceeding on the same course as on the previous day, we crossed two small creeks, running rapidly to the eastward. The bottoms of these creeks were covered with granite pebbles, of various sizes. The first creek we crossed at the entrance, and the other near the middle of a thick scrub, extending nearly three miles, and through which we had to cut a road. The various plants of which this scrub was composed corresponded with those described as forming the scrub near our first camp in the Bay. The greatest obstacles to our progress through these scrubs were the long shoots of the Flagellaria, and climbing palm. We camped in an open patch of forest land, covered with gra.s.s, and the trees consisted princ.i.p.ally of Moreton Bay ash, (a species of eucalyptus), Casuarina, and a rather large-growing Acacia, with broad, rhomboidal, sericeous phyllodia, and very broad, flat legumes.

Luff and Douglas were this day taken very ill with the ague.

June 29.

We found that some of our horses had strayed into the scrub, and we did not succeed in finding them until nearly twelve o'clock, and Luff and Douglas being no better, Mr. Kennedy with three others proceeded to examine the country in advance of us.

June 30.

This morning Luff was a little better, but Douglas was able to eat but little. In the scrub near our camp I found a species of Musa, with leaves as large, and the plants as high, as the common banana (M. paradisiaca) with blossoms and fruit, but the fruit was not eatable. I also found a beautiful tree belonging to the natural order Myrtaceae, producing on the trunk and large branches only abundance of white, sweet-scented flowers, larger than those of the common rose-apple (Jambosa vulgaris), with long stamens, a very short style, slightly two-cleft stigma, five very small semi-orbicular petals, alternate with the thick fleshy segments of the calyx, broad lanceolate leaves, the fruit four to six inches in circ.u.mference, consisting of a white fleshy, slightly acid substance, with one large round seed (perhaps sometimes more), the foot-stalk about one inch long. This is a most beautiful and curious tree. Some specimens which I saw measured five feet in circ.u.mference, and were sixty feet high, the straight trunks rising twenty or thirty feet from the ground to the branches, being covered with blossoms, with which not a leaf mingled.

There were ripe and unripe fruit mingled with the blossoms, the scent of the latter being delightful, spreading perfume over a great distance around; I had frequently noticed the fragrance of these blossoms while pa.s.sing through the scrub, but could not before make out from whence it arose. It resembles the scent of a ripe pineapple, but is much more powerful. There are not many of these trees to be found, and those only in the scrub, in a stiff loamy soil. The small animals eat the fruit, and I tasted some, but it was not so good as the rose-apple; we called it the white-apple. It is a species of Eugenia.

A short distance to the south-west of our camp, is a range of round hills, of moderate height, covered with gra.s.s, and thinly timbered with box and other species of eucalyptus, resembling the ironbark. These hills are composed of huge blocks of coa.r.s.e granite, with a stiff soil, and appear to stretch a long distance to the west.

July 1.

Mr. Kennedy returned this morning, having explored the country for about forty miles, over which he thought we might travel safely. There being plenty of gra.s.s however at the camp, and the men no better, he determined to defer our advance till Monday.

July 2.

Being Sunday, prayers were read at eleven o'clock.

July 3.

Early this morning we prepared to start, but Luff and Douglas being seized with a fit of ague, we were compelled to stop. Although our horses had all the way had abundance of feed, they began to grow very thin--several of them very weak, and one getting very lame, from bad feet. The sheep also had fallen away very much, which I attributed to the wet journey they had had; being almost always wet, from crossing rivers and creeks.

July 4.

Mr. Kennedy and three others roamed this morning to some distance from the camp, when they were followed by a tribe of natives, making threatening demonstrations, and armed with spears; one spear was actually thrown, when Mr. Kennedy, fearing for the safety of his party, ordered his men to fire upon them; four of the natives fell, but Mr. Kennedy could not ascertain whether more than one was killed, as the other three were immediately carried off into the scrub.

July 5.

Luff and Douglas now began to get better, but being still unable to walk, we could not break up our camp.

July 6.

We started early this morning, and crossed two creeks with narrow belts of scrub on each side, running north-east. I have little doubt these creeks run into the river we crossed on the 8th of June. The banks of the second creek were nearly twenty feet high, so that we were obliged to lower down the carts into its bed by means of ropes and pulleys, fastened to the branches of the trees which overhung the creek. The horses were got into the creek with a great deal of difficulty, then harnessed to the carts, and we proceeded along the bed of the creek till we arrived at a spot where the banks on the opposite side were not so steep. At this place by harnessing six horses to each of the carts, we managed to get them all out of the creek without any accident. The bed of the creek was composed of granite pebbles. We encamped on the northern side of it, the soil being a strong clayey loam, well covered with gra.s.s two or three feet high, so thick that it was difficult to walk through it. The country here was hilly open forest-land, with a high range before us, running north-east. The trees were princ.i.p.ally Moreton Bay ash, box, and another species of eucalyptus, resembling the common ironbark, but with long narrow leaves. I also found a magnificent species of Grevillea, with fine pinnatifid silvery leaves, and beautiful racemes of orange-coloured flowers; also another tree belonging to the same natural order, rivalling the Grevillea in the beauty of its flowers, producing an abundance of cream-coloured blossoms, on compound, terminal racemes. In the scrub by the side of the creek, I found a most beautiful Scitamineos plant, the foliage, root, and habit of which resembled Hedychium. The beauty of the plant consisted in its large, stiff, s.h.i.+ning bracteae, which continue to grow after the small pink blossoms have fallen. The bracteae are about half an inch broad at the base, slightly curved inwards, and tapering to a point. The heads of the flowers, resembling a pineapple in shape and size, and of a beautiful crimson colour, are produced on the top of a strong flower-stem, 18 inches high, and they will retain their shape and colour a month after being cut. This plant appears to be very local in its habits, as I only caught sight of it by the side of three creeks, and always in moist, shady places. I obtained seeds, and also packed some of its fleshy, tuberous roots in a tin case.

We saw but few wallabies; and not one kangaroo or emu had as yet been seen by any of the party. The country was not open enough for them to inhabit.

July 7.

We started at daylight, proceeding over open forest ground covered with long gra.s.s, very thick and luxuriant. Travelling was rendered still more difficult by the large logs of dead wood which strewed the ground in every direction, and which much impeded the progress of the carts. We camped by the side of a creek, with a narrow belt of scrub on the south-east side, but apparently a wide extent of it on the other. This creek had a large sandy bed; with large Castanospermums, Tristanias, and Sarcocephali growing on its banks, which were rather steep. It had a very tortuous course, coming from south-west and turning east a little below our camp, which was in a bend of the creek.

July 8.

We were employed nearly all this day in cutting through very thick scrub on the other side of the creek. Whilst doing so we had to cross several other smaller ones, all turning east, and in the evening we camped on a small patch of open forest land, covered with long coa.r.s.e gra.s.s, and large blocks of coa.r.s.e granite rock jutting out here and there.

July 9.

This being Sunday we halted for the day, and prayers were read at eleven o'clock.

July 10 and 11.

We continued throughout these days cutting through belts of scrub and crossing small creeks, running from the west and north-west, and turning east. During the latter day we were visited by a small tribe of natives, who appeared very friendly and did not stop long. I found a large quant.i.ty of Castanospermum seeds in one of the creeks, apparently put there to steep by the natives, who use them for food. They informed me that they steep them in water for five days, and then cut them into thin slices and dry them in the sun; they are then pounded between two large stones, and the meal being moistened with water is baked on a flat stone, raised from the ground a few inches, with a small fire burning beneath. I afterwards saw some of the meal baked, but it was not very palatable.

July 12 and 13.