Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia, Complete

C >> Charles Sturt >> Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia, Complete

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The opinion I have expressed, and which is founded on my personal
experience, that the rivers crossed by Messrs. Hovell and Hume had
already united above me, was strengthened by the capacity of the stream we
had just discovered. It had a medium width of 350 feet, with a depth of
from twelve to twenty. Its reaches were from half to three-quarters of a
mile in length, and the views upon it were splendid. Of course, as the
Morumbidgee entered it from the north, its first reach must have been
E. and W., and it was so, as nearly as possible; but it took us a little
to the southward of the latter point, in a distance of about eight miles
that we pulled down it in the course of the afternoon. We then landed and
pitched our tents for the night. Its transparent waters were running over
a sandy bed at the rate of two-and-a-half knots an hour, and its banks,
although averaging eighteen feet in height, were evidently subject to
floods.

ABSENCE OF NATIVES.

We had not seen any natives since falling in with the last tribe on the
Morumbidgee. A cessation had, therefore, taken place in our communication
with them, in re-establishing which I anticipated considerable difficulty.
It appeared singular that we should not have fallen in with any for
several successive days, more especially at the junction of the two
rivers, as in similar situations they generally have an establishment. In
examining the country back from the stream, I did not observe any large
paths, but it was evident that fires had made extensive ravages in the
neighbourhood, so that the country was, perhaps, only temporarily
deserted. Macnamee, who had wandered a little from the tents, declared
that he had seen about a dozen natives round a fire, from whom (if he
really did see them) he very precipitately fled, but I was inclined to
discredit his story, because in our journey on the following day, we
did not see even a casual wanderer.

WEATHER, TEMPERATURE, &C.

The river maintained its character, and raised our hopes to the highest
pitch. Its breadth varied from 160 to 200 yards; and only in one place,
where a reef of iron-stone stretched nearly across from the left bank,
so as to contract the channel near the right and to form a considerable
rapid, was there any apparent obstruction to our navigation. I was sorry,
however, to remark that the breadth of alluvial soil between its outer and
inner banks was very inconsiderable, and that the upper levels were poor
and sandy. Blue-gum generally occupied the former, while the usual
productions of the plains still predominated upon the latter, and showed
that the distant interior had not yet undergone any favourable change.
We experienced strong breezes from the north, but the range of the
thermometer was high, and the weather rather oppressive than otherwise.
On the night of the 16th, we had a strong wind from the N.W., but it
moderated with day-light, and shifted to the E.N.E., and the day was
favourable and cool. Our progress was in every way satisfactory, and if
any change had taken place in the river, it was that the banks had
increased in height, in many places to thirty feet, the soil being a red
loam, and the surface much above the reach of floods. The bank opposite to
the one that was so elevated, was proportionably low, and, in general, not
only heavily timbered, but covered with reeds, and backed by a chain of
ponds at the base of the outer embankment.

INTERCOURSE WITH NATIVES.

About 4 p.m., some natives were observed running by the river side behind
us, but on our turning the boat's head towards the shore, they ran away.
It was evident that they had no idea what we were, and, from their
timidity, feeling assured that it would be impossible to bring them to a
parley, we continued onwards till our usual hour of stopping, when we
pitched our tents on the left bank for the night, it being the one
opposite to that on which the natives had appeared. We conjectured that
their curiosity would lead them to follow us, which they very shortly did;
for we had scarcely made ourselves comfortable when we heard their wild
notes through the woods as they advanced towards the river; and their
breaking into view with their spears and shields, and painted and prepared
as they were for battle, was extremely fine. They stood threatening us,
and making a great noise, for a considerable time, but, finding that we
took no notice of them, they, at length, became quiet. I then walked to
some little distance from the party, and taking a branch in my hand, as a
sign of peace, beckoned them to swim to our side of the river, which,
after some time, two or three of them did. But they approached me with
great caution, hesitating at every step. They soon, however, gained
confidence, and were ultimately joined by all the males of their tribe.
I gave the FIRST who swam the river a tomahawk (making this a rule in
order to encourage them) with which he was highly delighted. I shortly
afterwards placed them all in a row and fired a gun before them: they were
quite unprepared for such an explosion, and after standing stupified and
motionless for a moment or two, they simultaneously took to their heels,
to our great amusement. I succeeded, however, in calling them back, and
they regained their confidence so much, that sixteen of them remained with
us all night, but the greater number retired at sunset.

On the following morning, they accompanied us down the river, where we
fell in with their tribe, who were stationed on an elevated bank a short
distance below--to the number of eighty-three men, women, and children.
Their appearance was extremely picturesque and singular. They wanted us to
land, but time was too precious for such delays. Some of the boldest of
the natives swam round and round the boat so as to impede the use of the
oars, and the women on the bank evinced their astonishment by mingled
yells and cries. They entreated us, by signs, to remain with them, but, as
I foresaw a compliance on this occasion would hereafter be attended with
inconvenience, I thought it better to proceed on our journey, and the
natives soon ceased their importunities, and, indeed, did not follow or
molest us.

ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY AND OF THE RIVER BANKS.

The river improved upon us at every mile. Its reaches were of noble
breadth, and splendid appearance. Its current was stronger, and it was fed
by numerous springs. Rocks, however, were more frequent in its bed, and in
two places almost formed a barrier across the channel, leaving but a
narrow space for the boats to go down. We passed several elevations of
from 70 to 90 feet in height, at the base of which the stream swept along.
The soil of these elevations was a mixture of clay (marl) and sand, upon
coarse sandstone. Their appearance and the manner in which they had been
acted upon by water, was singular, and afforded a proof of the violence of
the rains in this part of the interior. From the highest of these, I
observed that the country to the S.E. was gently undulated, and so far
changed in character from that through which we had been travelling;
still, however, it was covered with a low scrub, and was barren and
unpromising.

About noon of the 18th, we surprised two women at the water-side, who
immediately retreated into the brush. Shortly after, four men showed
themselves, and followed us for a short distance, but hid themselves upon
our landing. The country still appeared undulated to the S.E.; the soil
was sandy, and cypresses more abundant than any other tree. We passed
several extensive sand-banks in the river, of unusual size and solidity,
an evident proof of the sandy nature of the interior generally. The vast
accumulations of sand at the junctions of every creek were particularly
remarkable. The timber on the alluvial flats was not by any means so large
as we had hitherto observed it; nor were the flats themselves so extensive
as they are on the Morumbidgee and the Macquarie. Notwithstanding the
aspect of the country which I have described, no POSITIVE change had as
yet taken place in the general feature of the interior. The river
continued to flow in a direction somewhat to the northward of west,
through a country that underwent no perceptible alteration. Its waters,
confined to their immediate bed, swept along considerably below the level
of its inner banks; and the spaces between them and the outer ones, though
generally covered with reeds, seemed not recently to have been flooded;
while on the other hand, they had, in many places, from successive
depositions, risen to a height far above the reach of inundation. Still,
however, the more remote interior maintained its sandy and sterile
character, and stretched away, in alternate plain and wood, to a distance
far beyond the limits of our examination.

About the 21st, a very evident change took place in it. The banks of the
river suddenly acquired a perpendicular and water-worn appearance. Their
summits were perfectly level, and no longer confined by a secondary
embankment, but preserved an uniform equality of surface back from the
stream. These banks, although so abrupt, were not so high as the upper
levels, or secondary embankments. They indicated a deep alluvial deposit,
and yet, being high above the reach of any ordinary flood, were covered
with grass, under an open box forest, into which a moderately dense scrub
occasionally penetrated. We had fallen into a concavity similar to those
of the marshes, but successive depositions had almost filled it, and no
longer subject to inundation, it had lost all the character of those
flooded tracts. The kind of country I have been describing, lay rather to
the right than to the left of the river at this place, the latter
continuing low and swampy, as if the country to the south of the river
were still subject to inundation. As the expedition proceeded, the left
bank gradually assumed the appearance of the right; both looked water-worn
and perpendicular, and though not more than from nine to ten feet in
height, their summits were perfectly level in receding, and bore
diminutive box-timber, with widely-scattered vegetation. Not a single
elevation had, as yet, broken the dark and gloomy monotony of the
interior; but as our observations were limited to a short distance from
the river, our surmises on the nature of the distant country were
necessarily involved in some uncertainty.

THREATENED ATTACK--AMICABLE CONFERENCE.

On the 19th, as we were about to conclude our journey for the day, we saw
a large body of natives before us. On approaching them, they showed every
disposition for combat, and ran along the bank with spears in rests, as if
only waiting for an opportunity to throw them at us. They were upon the
right, and as the river was broad enough to enable me to steer wide of
them, I did not care much for their threats; but upon another party
appearing upon the left bank, I thought it high time to disperse one or
the other of them, as the channel was not wide enough to enable me to keep
clear of danger, if assailed by both, as I might be while keeping amid the
channel. I found, however, that they did not know how to use the advantage
they possessed, as the two divisions formed a junction; those on the left
swimming over to the stronger body upon the right bank. This, fortunately,
prevented the necessity of any hostile measure on my part, and we were
suffered to proceed unmolested, for the present. The whole then followed
us without any symptom of fear, but making a dreadful shouting, and
beating their spears and shields together, by way of intimidation. It is
but justice to my men to say that in this critical situation they evinced
the greatest coolness, though it was impossible for any one to witness
such a scene with indifference. As I did not intend to fatigue the men by
continuing to pull farther than we were in the habit of doing, we landed
at our usual time on the left bank, and while the people were pitching the
tents, I walked down the bank with M'Leay, to treat with these desperadoes
in the best way we could, across the water, a measure to which my men
showed great reluctance, declaring that if during our absence the natives
approached them, they would undoubtedly fire upon them. I assured them it
was not my intention to go out of their sight. We took our guns with us,
but determined not to use them until the last extremity, both from a
reluctance to shed blood and with a view to our future security. I held a
long pantomimical dialogue with them, across the water, and held out the
olive branch in token of amity. They at length laid aside their spears,
and a long consultation took place among them, which ended in two or three
wading into the river, contrary, as it appeared, to the earnest
remonstrances of the majority, who, finding that their entreaties had no
effect, wept aloud, and followed them with a determination, I am sure, of
sharing their fate, whatever it might have been. As soon as they landed,
M'Leay and I retired to a little distance from the bank, and sat down;
that being the usual way among the natives of the interior, to invite to
an interview. When they saw us act thus, they approached, and sat down by
us, but without looking up, from a kind of diffidence peculiar to them,
and which exists even among the nearest relatives, as I have already had
occasion to observe. As they gained confidence, however, they showed an
excessive curiosity, and stared at us in the most earnest manner. We now
led them to the camp, and I gave, as was my custom, the first who had
approached, a tomahawk; and to the others, some pieces of iron hoop. Those
who had crossed the river amounted to about thirty-five in number.
At sunset, the majority of them left us; but three old men remained at
the fire-side all night. I observed that few of them had either lost their
front teeth or lacerated their bodies, as the more westerly tribes do. The
most loathsome diseases prevailed among them. Several were disabled by
leprosy, or some similar disorder, and two or three had entirely lost
their sight. They are, undoubtedly, a brave and a confiding people, and
are by no means wanting in natural affection. In person, they resemble the
mountain tribes. They had the thick lip, the sunken eye, the extended
nostril, and long beards, and both smooth and curly hair are common among
them. Their lower extremities appear to bear no proportion to their bust
in point of muscular strength; but the facility with which they ascend
trees of the largest growth, and the activity with which they move upon
all occasions, together with their singularly erect stature, argue that
such appearance is entirely deceptive.

INTERCOURSE WITH NATIVES.

The old men slept very soundly by the fire, and were the last to get up in
the morning. M'Leay's extreme good humour had made a most favourable
impression upon them, and I can picture him, even now, joining in their
wild song. Whether it was from his entering so readily into their mirth,
or from anything peculiar that struck them, the impression upon the whole
of us was, that they took him to have been originally a black, in
consequence of which they gave him the name of Rundi. Certain it is, they
pressed him to show his side, and asked if he had not received a wound
there--evidently as if the original Rundi had met with a violent death
from a spear-wound in that place. The whole tribe, amounting in number to
upwards of 150, assembled to see us take our departure. Four of them
accompanied us, among whom there was one remarkable for personal strength
and stature.--The 21st passed without our falling in with any new tribe,
and the night of the 22nd, saw us still wandering in that lonely desert
together. There was something unusual in our going through such an extent
of country without meeting another tribe, but our companions appeared to
be perfectly aware of the absence of inhabitants, as they never left
our side.

Although the banks of the river had been of general equality of height,
sandy elevations still occasionally formed a part of them, and their
summits were considerably higher than the alluvial flats.

RAPID IN THE RIVER--DANGEROUS DESCENT OF THE BOATS.

It was upon the crest of one of these steep and lofty banks, that on the
morning of the 22nd, the natives who were a-head of the boat, suddenly
stopped to watch our proceedings down a foaming rapid that ran beneath.
We were not aware of the danger to which we were approaching, until we
turned an angle of the river, and found ourselves too near to retreat.
In such a moment, without knowing what was before them, the coolness of
the men was strikingly exemplified. No one even spoke after they became
aware that silence was necessary. The natives (probably anticipating
misfortune) stood leaning upon their spears upon the lofty bank above us.
Desiring the men not to move from their seats, I stood up to survey the
channel, and to steer the boat to that part of it which was least impeded
by rocks. I was obliged to decide upon a hasty survey, as we were already
at the head of the rapid. It appeared to me that there were two passages,
the one down the centre of the river, the other immediately under its
right bank. A considerable rock stood directly in own way to the latter,
so that I had no alternative but to descend the former. About forty yards
below the rock, I noticed that a line of rocks occupied the space between
the two channels, whilst a reef, projecting from the left bank, made the
central passage distinctly visible, and the rapidity of the current
proportionably great. I entertained hopes that the passage was clear, and
that we should shoot down it without interruption; but in this I was
disappointed. The boat struck with the fore-part of her keel on a sunken
rock, and, swinging round as it were on a pivot, presented her bow to the
rapid, while the skiff floated away into the strength of it. We had every
reason to anticipate the loss of our whale-boat, whose build was so light,
that had her side struck the rock, instead of her keel, she would have
been laid open from stem to stern. As it was, however, she remained fixed
in her position, and it only remained for us to get her off the best way
we could. I saw that this could only be done by sending two of the men
with a rope to the upper rock, and getting the boat, by that means, into
the still water, between that and the lower one. We should then have time
to examine the channels, and to decide as to that down which it would be
safest to proceed. My only fear was, that the loss of the weight of the
two men would lighten the boat so much, that she would be precipitated
down the rapid without my having any command over her; but it happened
otherwise. We succeeded in getting her into the still water, and
ultimately took her down the channel under the right bank, without her
sustaining any injury. A few miles below this rapid the river took a
singular bend, and we found, after pulling several miles, that we were
within a stone's throw of a part of the stream we had already
sailed down.

The four natives joined us in the camp, and assisted the men at their
various occupations. The consequence was, that they were treated with more
than ordinary kindness; and Fraser, for his part, in order to gratify
these favoured guests, made great havoc among the feathered race. He
returned after a short ramble with a variety of game, among which were a
crow, a kite, and a laughing jackass (alcedo gigantea,) a species of
king's-fisher, a singular bird, found in every part of Australia. Its cry,
which resembles a chorus of wild spirits, is apt to startle the traveller
who may be in jeopardy, as if laughing and mocking at his misfortune.
It is a harmless bird, and I seldom allowed them to be destroyed, as they
were sure to rouse us with the earliest dawn. To this list of Fraser's
spoils, a duck and a tough old cockatoo, must be added. The whole of these
our friends threw on the fire without the delay of plucking, and snatched
them from that consuming element ere they were well singed, and devoured
them with uncommon relish.

DESERTED NATIVE VILLAGE.

We pitched our tents upon a flat of good and tenacious soil. A brush, in
which there was a new species of melaleuca, backed it, in the thickest
part of which we found a deserted native village. The spot was evidently
chosen for shelter. The huts were large and long, all facing the same
point of the compass, and in every way resembling the huts occupied by the
natives of the Darling. Large flocks of whistling ducks, and other wild
fowl, flew over our heads to the N.W., as if making their way to some
large or favourite waters. My observations placed us in lat. 34 degrees
8 minutes 15 seconds south, and in east long. 141 degrees 9 minutes
42 seconds or nearly so; and I was at a loss to conceive what direction
the river would ultimately take. We were considerably to the N.W. of the
point at which we had entered it, and in referring to the chart, it
appeared, that if the Darling had kept a S.W. course from where the last
expedition left its banks, we ought ere this to have struck upon it,
or have arrived at its junction with the stream on which we were
journeying.

CONVERSING BY SIGNS.

The natives, in attempting to answer my interrogatories, only perplexed
me more and more. They evidently wished to explain something, by placing a
number of sticks across each other as a kind of diagram of the country. It
was, however, impossible to arrive at their meaning. They undoubtedly
pointed to the westward, or rather to the south of that point, as the
future course of the river; but there was something more that they were
anxious to explain, which I could not comprehend. The poor fellows seemed
quite disappointed, and endeavoured to beat it into Fraser's head with as
little success. I then desired Macnamee to get up into a tree. From the
upper branches of it he said he could see hills; but his account of their
appearance was such that I doubted his story: nevertheless it might have
been correct. He certainly called our attention to a large fire, as if the
country to the N.W. was in flames, so that it appeared we were approaching
the haunts of the natives at last.

It happened that Fraser and Harris were for guard, and they sat up
laughing and talking with the natives long after we retired to rest.
Fraser, to beguile the hours, proposed shaving his sable companions, and
performed that operation with admirable dexterity upon their chief, to his
great delight. I got up at an early hour, and found to my surprise that
the whole of them had deserted us. Harris told me they had risen from the
fire about an hour before, and had crossed the river. I was a little
angry, but supposed they were aware that we were near some tribe, and had
gone on a-head to prepare and collect them.

LARGE CONCOURSE OF NATIVES--THEIR HOSTILE DEMEANOUR.

After breakfast, we proceeded onwards as usual. The river had increased so
much in width that, the wind being fair, I hoisted sail for the first
time, to save the strength of my men as much as possible. Our progress was
consequently rapid. We passed through a country that, from the nature of
its soil and other circumstances, appeared to be intersected by creeks and
lagoons. Vast flights of wild fowl passed over us, but always at a
considerable elevation, while, on the other hand, the paucity of ducks on
the river excited our surprise. Latterly, the trees upon the river, and in
its neighbourhood, had been a tortuous kind of box. The flooded-gum grew
in groups on the spaces subject to inundation, but not on the levels above
the influence of any ordinary rise of the stream. Still they were much
smaller than they were observed to be in the higher branches of the river.
We had proceeded about nine miles, when we were surprised by the
appearance in view, at the termination of a reach, of a long line of
magnificent trees of green and dense foliage. As we sailed down the reach,
we observed a vast concourse of natives under them, and, on a nearer
approach, we not only heard their war-song, if it might so be called, but
remarked that they were painted and armed, as they generally are, prior
to their engaging in deadly conflict. Notwithstanding these outward signs
of hostility, fancying that our four friends were with them, I continued
to steer directly in for the bank on which they were collected. I found,
however, when it was almost too late to turn into the succeeding reach
to our left, that an attempt to land would only be attended with loss of
life. The natives seemed determined to resist it. We approached so near
that they held their spears quivering in their grasp ready to hurl. They
were painted in various ways. Some who had marked their ribs, and thighs,
and faces with a white pigment, looked like skeletons, others were daubed
over with red and yellow ochre, and their bodies shone with the grease
with which they had besmeared themselves. A dead silence prevailed among
the front ranks, but those in the back ground, as well as the women, who
carried supplies of darts, and who appeared to have had a bucket of
whitewash capsized over their heads, were extremely clamorous. As I did
not wish a conflict with these people, I lowered my sail, and putting the
helm to starboard, we passed quietly down the stream in mid channel.
Disappointed in their anticipations, the natives ran along the bank of the
river, endeavouring to secure an aim at us; but, unable to throw with
certainty, in consequence of the onward motion of the boat, they flung
themselves into the most extravagant attitudes, and worked themselves into
a state of frenzy by loud and vehement shouting.

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