Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake Volume Ii Part 12

September 1.

All this day we continued travelling over very uneven country, full of precipitous rocks and gullies, until we came to a bend of the river: we now followed it in its tortuous course through the rocks, till we came to a flat country where its channels were divided by high green banks, on which were growing large drooping tea-trees (melaleucas); growing on these I found a beautiful species of Loranthus, with large fascicles of orange coloured flowers, the leaves cordate, and clasping the stem. On the hills I found a Brachychiton, with crimson flowers; the tree had a stunted growth, with deciduous leaves. I collected as much of the gum as I could, and advised the others to do the same; we ate it with the roasted seeds, but were unable to find much of the gum or of the seeds.

September 2.

We travelled over uneven rocky ground, and crossed several gullies, and camped by the bed of a river, at a spot where there were fine reaches of water, full of Nymphaea and Villarsia. There was plenty of good gra.s.s in the valley of the river, which was not very wide here, but on the hills many parts had been recently burned, and the gra.s.s was just springing up.

September 3.

Sunday. We had prayers at eleven o'clock, and afterwards, during the day, we shot a small emu and a kangaroo. Being camped by the side of the river, we were able to catch a few fish, which were a most acceptable change to us.

The country through which we had pa.s.sed for the last two days consisted of a good stiff soil, well covered with gra.s.s, openly timbered and well watered.

September 4 and 5.

The country continued much the same, making travelling most difficult and laborious. We were now in the vicinity of Cape Tribulation. While traversing the bed of the river, in which we were in many places obliged to travel, we pa.s.sed two very high peaked hills to the westward.

September 6.

We now found the river beginning to run in all directions through the hills, over which it was impossible to travel. We were consequently forced to keep the bed of the river, our horses falling every few minutes, in consequence of the slippery surface of the rocks over which they were obliged to pa.s.s--consisting of dark granite.

The sterility of the hills here is much relieved by the bunches of beautiful large yellow flowers of the Cochlospermum Gossypium, interspersed with the large b.a.l.l.s of white cotton, just bursting from the seed-vessels. I collected a bag full of this cotton, wherewith to stuff our pack-saddles, as our sheep did not supply us with wool enough for that purpose. On these hills, too, I saw a beautiful Calythrix, with pink flowers, and two or three very pretty dwarf acacias. As Mr. Kennedy and myself were walking first of the party, looking out for the best path for the horses to travel in, I fell with violence, and unfortunately broke Mr. Kennedy's mountain barometer, which I carried. I also bruised one of my fingers very much, by crus.h.i.+ng it with my gun.

September 7 and 8.

We continued following the river through its westward course, through a very mountainous country. On the hills I saw a very handsome Bauhinia, a tree about twenty feet high, with spreading branches covered with axillary fascicles of red flowers, long broad flat legumes, pinnate leaves, leaflets oval, about one inch long; an Erythrina, with fine racemes of orange-coloured flowers, with long narrow keel, and broad vexillum, leaves palmate, and three to five lunate leaflets, long, round, painted legumes, red seeds; also a rose-coloured Brachychiton, with rather small flowers, a deciduous tree of stunted habit, about twenty feet high. We also pa.s.sed narrow belts of low sandy loam, covered with Banksias, broad-leafed Melaleucas, and the orange-coloured Grevillea I have before spoken of. On these flats we again met with large ant-hills, six to ten feet high, and eight feet in circ.u.mference; the land at the base was of a reddish colour.

September 9.

We had a fine view of the surrounding country from the top of a high hill, in the midst of a range over which we pa.s.sed. To the west and round to the south the country appeared to be fine undulating forest land, intersected by numerous creeks and small rivers falling considerably to the westward, as in fact all the water had been running for some days past. Doubtless there must be plenty of water in the holes and reaches of these rivers and creeks at all seasons, but in the rainy season many of them must be deep and rapid streams, as the flood-marks on the trees were from fifteen to twenty feet high. The river along the course of which we had been so long travelling varied in width from two hundred to eight hundred yards. It has two, or, in some places, three distinct channels, and in the flat country through which it pa.s.ses these are divided by large drooping melaleucas.

It is singular that the country here should be so dest.i.tute of game; we had seen a few wallabies and some ducks, but were seldom able to shoot any of them; we had not seen more than four or five emus altogether since we started; a few brown hawks which we occasionally shot, were almost the only addition we were enabled to make to our small ration. To-day we got an iguana and two ducks, which with the water in which our mutton was boiled, would have made us a good pot of soup, had there been any substance in the mutton. Even thin as it was, we were very glad to get it. The rivers also seemed to contain but few fish, as we only caught a few of two different kinds, one of which without scales, resembled the catfish, caught near Sydney;* the other was a dark thick fish with scales.

(*Footnote. Plotosus macrocephalus.)

September 10.

Finding that the river continued running to the westward, and not as we had hoped towards Princess Charlotte's Bay, we left it and turned in a northerly direction, travelling over very rocky ridges covered with cochlospermums and acacias, interspersed with occasional patches of open forest land, and strewed with isolated blocks of course granite containing crystals of quartz and laminae of white mica. Prayers as usual at eleven o'clock.

We had not seen natives for several days, but this night, whilst one of the party was keeping watch, a short distance from the fire, about eleven o'clock, he heard the chattering of the blacks. Three spears were almost immediately thrown into the camp and fell near the fire, but fortunately without injuring any of the party. We fired a few shots in the direction from which the spears came; the night being so dark that we could not see them. We entertained fears that some of our horses might be speared, as they were at some distance from the camp, but fortunately the blacks offered us no further molestation.

September 11 and 12.

We pursued our northern course, the ground becoming very rotten; by the sides of small creeks in sandy flats were belts of broad-leafed Melaleucas and Grevilleas. We met with scrubs of Leptospermum, Fabricia, and Dodonaea. By the creeks, when the ground was sandy, we saw Abrus precatorius, and a small tree about fifteen feet high, with bi-pinnate leaves, the leaflets very small, with long flat legumes containing ten or twelve black and red seeds, like those of Abrus precatorius, but rather larger.

September 13 and 14.

Most part of these days we travelled over a country of stiff soil, covered with iron-bark, and divided at intervals by belts of sandy ground, on which grew Banksias, Callitris, and a very pretty Lophostemon, about twenty feet high, with long narrow lanceolate leaves, and a very round bushy top. By the side of the small streams running through the flat ground, I saw a curious herbaceous plant, with large pitchers at the end of the leaves, like those of the common pitcher-plant (Nepenthes distillatoria). It was too late in the season to find flowers, but the flower-stems were about eighteen inches high, and the pitchers would hold about a wine-gla.s.s full of water. This interesting and singular plant very much attracted the attention of all our party.

We here fell in with a camp of natives. Immediately they saw us they ran away from their camp, leaving behind them some half-cooked food, consisting of the meal of some seeds (most likely Moreton Bay chestnuts) which had been moistened, and laid in small irregular pieces on a flat stone with a small fire beneath it. We took a part of this baked meal, leaving behind some fish-hooks as payment. In the camp we also found a considerable quant.i.ty of Panda.n.u.s fruit, which grows very plentifully here. Although, however, it is sweet and pleasant to the taste, I found that the natives did not eat largely of it, as it possessed very relaxing qualities, and caused violent headache, with swelling beneath the eyes.

Some narrow belts of land we pa.s.sed here betrayed indications of having been frequently inundated by fresh water. The ground was very uneven, full of small hillocks which were hidden by long gra.s.s, which caused our weak horses to fall very frequently.

September 15.

This day we had better travelling, the soil becoming a strong greyish loam; the forest land open and free from scrub, the trees princ.i.p.ally consisting of iron-bark, box, and the leguminous tree, with bi-pinnate leaves, and dark fissured bark I have before alluded to. We saw here a great many pigeons of various kinds; Mr. Wall shot one pair of Geophaps plumifera, which he preserved; also a pair of small pigeons of a greyish colour, with red round the eyes, which he considered new. I also saw a large tree and obtained specimens of it, belonging to the natural order Bignoniaceae, with terminal spikes of yellow flowers, and rough cordate leaves; and a Proteaceous plant with long compound racemes of white flowers, and deeply cut leaves, resembling a tree with true pinnate leaves. The large-seeded Angophora mentioned by me before, also grew in this district.

About ten o'clock we came upon the banks of a very fine river, with a very broad bed, and steep banks on both sides. No doubt this was the river we had seen to the eastward from our camp on the 9th instant. Mr.

Kennedy considered this stream to rise somewhere near Cape Tribulation, and after running northward about thirty miles, to turn to the south-west, the way it was running when we came upon it. In this place it appeared a fine deep river, and we followed it in its south-west course, at a short distance from its banks, for six or seven miles. The south-east bank was, for the last three or four miles we traced it, covered with a narrow belt of scrub, composed of Flagellaria, Jasminum, Phyllanthus, and a rambling plant, belonging to the natural order Verbenaceae, with terminal spikes of white, sweet-scented flowers. The trees were princ.i.p.ally Castanospermum, Melia, Rulingia, and Sarcocephalus, and a beautiful tree belonging to the natural order Bombaceae, probably to the genus Eriodendron, with large spreading branches, which, as well as the trunk, were covered with spines. These trees are from thirty to fifty feet in height, and produce large crimson campanulate flowers, composed of five large stiff petals, about two inches long; stamens numerous, all joining at the base, and divided again into five parcels; the filaments are the same length as the petals; five cleft stigma; large five-celled capsule, many-seeded cells, the seeds being wrapped in a white silky cotton. This tree was deciduous, the leaves being palmate, and grew on stiff soil: its large crimson flowers attracted universal admiration.

We crossed the river at a spot where its banks were not so steep, and where there was but from one to three feet of water; in some places the bottom was sandy and in others rocky, but we could see rock only in the bed of the river. We camped on the side of the river, on some recently burned gra.s.s; five of the party went fis.h.i.+ng a short distance up the river, and caught a few fish. The country here to the west and the south-west was open undulating forest land, which had been burned some short time before, and the gra.s.s just growing again, formed beautiful feed for our horses and sheep.

Towards evening about six or eight natives made their appearance, on the same side of the river as our camp; when about two hundred yards from us they s.h.i.+pped their spears in their throwing-sticks, and with other warlike gestures gradually drew near to us, making a great noise, doubtless thinking to frighten us. There being a wide deep gully between the natives and our camp, we drew up along the edge of it, with our firearms all ready to give them a warm reception should they endeavour to approach to closer hostilities. We endeavoured to make them understand that our intentions were friendly, and that we wished them to be peaceable; but they seemed to construe our signals to make them comprehend this, into indications of fear on our part; this increased their courage, and strengthened their determination to drive us away if possible, although they would not come within reach of our guns. We however fired at them, and although none were hurt, they appeared much frightened at the report of the firearms. They left us and went in the direction taken by the five of our party who had gone fis.h.i.+ng, and for the safety of whom we began to be alarmed; our fears were increased, by hearing the report of a gun a few minutes afterwards. It seemed they had seen our party fis.h.i.+ng by the side of the river, and instantly ran at them, to attack them; but one of the party placed on the bank as a lookout, fired at them as they came up, just as they were preparing to throw their spears, on which they turned their backs, and took to flight as fast as they could.

September 16.

This morning after breakfast, Mitch.e.l.l and myself took two horses and re-crossed the river. We went about two miles back to a spot where I had seen some Portulaca, intending to bring some of it back to the camp to boil as a vegetable, it being the only description of food of the kind that we had been able to obtain throughout our journey. We filled a bag with it and returned to the camp, when I found half a damper, one meal's bread had been stolen from the stores during my absence. This was not the first theft of the kind that had been committed, and it was found necessary to watch the provisions night and day. Mr. Kennedy was anxious to discover the thief in this instance, as it was stolen in open daylight while Mr. Kennedy himself was keeping a lookout in his tent, not twenty yards from where the provisions were stolen; every man's load was searched, but in vain, and Mr. Kennedy, knowing that a party left the camp for the purpose of fis.h.i.+ng a short distance up the river, and another party a few yards down the river to wash some clothes--took Jackey with him, who, by detecting some crumbs on the ground, discovered that the damper had been eaten at the place where the clothes were washed.

So careless were some of the party of the fatal consequences of our provisions being consumed before we arrived at Cape York, that as soon as we camped and the horses were unpacked, it was necessary that all the provisions should be deposited together on a tarpaulin, and that I should be near them by day and by night, so that I could not leave the camp at all, unless Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Wall undertook to watch the stores. I was obliged to watch the food whilst cooking; it was taken out of the boiler in the presence of myself and two or three others, and placed in the stores till morning.

It was seldom that I could go to bed before nine or ten o'clock at night, and I had to be up at four in the morning to see our tea made and sweetened, and our breakfast served out by daylight. The meals we cut up in thirteen parts, as nearly equal as possible, and one person touched each part in succession; whilst another person, with his back turned, called out the names of the party, the person named taking the part touched. The scrupulous exactness we were obliged to practise with respect to our provisions was increased by our misfortune in getting next to nothing to a.s.sist our scanty ration; while the extreme labour to which we were subjected increased our appet.i.tes. Two of the party always went out at daylight to fetch the horses in, and it was necessary we should start at early morning on account of the great heat in the middle of the day. We always endeavoured to make a fair stage by ten o'clock, and then, if in a convenient place, to halt: sometimes we were obliged to halt at nine o'clock, but we started again generally about three or four o'clock P.M., and travelled on till six.

Twelve or fourteen natives made their appearance at the camp this evening, in the same direction as on the previous day. Each one was armed with a large bundle of spears, and with boomerangs. Their bodies were painted with a yellowish earth, which with their warlike gestures, made them look very ferocious. The gra.s.s in the position they had taken up was very long and very dry, quite up to the edge of the gully; they set it on fire in three or four places, and the wind blowing from them to us, it burned very rapidly. Thinking we should be frightened at this display they followed the fire with their spears s.h.i.+pped, making a most hideous noise, and with the most savage gestures. Knowing the fire could not reach us, as there was nothing to burn on our side the gully, we drew up towards them with our firearms prepared. They approached near enough to throw three spears into our camp, one of which went quite through one of our tents. No one was hurt, but a few of our party fired at them; we could not tell whether any were wounded, as they disappeared almost immediately. We kept three on watch this night for fear of the natives.

September 17 to 21.

Leaving the river, we turned north-west, and had occasionally fair travelling over stiff soil, intersected by many creeks, most of them dry, but were everywhere able to find water at intervals of a few miles. We pa.s.sed over some ironstone ridges, and rocky hills, covered with Callitris, Cochlospermum, and Sterculias. On the stiff soil the trees were ironbark, box, apple-gum, and some large acacias, with long lanceolate phyllodia, and large spikes of golden-coloured flowers. The gra.s.s here in the valleys between the hills had been burned, and was grown up again about eight or ten inches high.

September 22.

We crossed a creek running eastward, overhung by Melaleucas and arborescent callistemons, with plenty of gra.s.s on both sides; the soil appeared to become more sandy than that over which we had hitherto pa.s.sed.

September 23.

We proceeded in our course, travelling over sandy ridges covered with Eugenia, Exocarpus, and a very pretty Eucalyptus, with rose-coloured flowers and obcordate leaves, and yellow soft bark, also a dwarfish tree with dark green leaves, and axillary racemes of round monospermons, fruit of a purple colour, with a thin rind of a bitter flavour; also a great many trees of moderate size, from fifteen to twenty feet high, of rather pendulous habit, oval lanceolate exstipulate leaves, loaded with an oblong yellow fruit, having a rough stone inside; the part covering the stone has, when ripe, a mealy appearance, and very good flavour. I considered from its appearance it was the fruit which Leichhardt called the nonda, which we always afterwards called it; we all ate plentifully of it.

The weather for the last few days had been very hot, the thermometer ranging in the shade from 95 to 100 degrees at noon; still there was generally a breeze in the morning from the eastward, and in the evening from the west. We camped by the same creek as on the previous day, but in our present position it was running South-West, with several lagoons in the valley, full of Nymphaea and Villarsia; our lat.i.tude here was 15 degrees 33 minutes south.

September 24.

We crossed the creek and proceeded northward, till we camped by a dry creek, from the bed of which we obtained water by digging. During the day's journey, we pa.s.sed over some flats of rotten honeycomb ground, on which nothing was growing but a few stunted shrubs, and a blue herbaceous plant belonging to the order Boragineae. We also pa.s.sed over other sandy flats covered with broad-leafed Melaleucas and Grevillias, and a few Banksias. On these flats ant-hills occurred, and in their vicinity there was seldom much gra.s.s. The gra.s.ses generally growing there were annual kinds. It was Mr. Kennedy's opinion that the creek we crossed this morning joined the river we left on the 16th, and formed the Mitch.e.l.l, although the country hereabouts did not resemble the banks of the Mitch.e.l.l, as described by Leichhardt; but the appearance of the country varies so much every few miles, particularly to the westward, that it is impossible to support an opposite opinion on this ground.

September 25.

As three of the horses could not be found this morning, four men were left behind to search for them while the rest of the party travelled on.

They had not come up with us at about four o'clock, and being anxious to find water before dark, we proceeded along a narrow open valley covered with long gra.s.s and large panda.n.u.s trees, skirted on each side by rather scrubby forest land. At dark we reached a large waterhole. One of the men left behind shortly arrived, and stated that the rest had halted for the night. Mr. Kennedy being anxious to bring all the horses to water, and to have the party together, sent me back to conduct them to the camp, which I very soon did, even though it was dark, the track being very plain. We collected a great many nondas to-day and baked some of them with our bread, which was the only way we could eat them cooked; they were much better fresh from the trees, but we found them rather astringent. Spring, our best kangaroo dog, was unable to come up to the camp this day, being overpowered by the heat of the sun, a circ.u.mstance we all regretted, as he was a most excellent watchdog.

September 26.