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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INTRODUCED FROM TRIBE TO TRIBE.

We had, as I have said, passed over this region, and were again hemmed in
by those sandy and sterile tracts upon which the beasts of the field could
obtain neither food nor water. We overtook the seven deputies some time
after we started, but soon lost sight of them again, as they cut off the
sweeps of the river, and shortened their journey as much as possible.
At 2 p.m. we found them with a tribe of their countrymen, about eighty in
number. We pulled in to the bank and remained with them for a short time,
and I now determined to convince the blacks who had preceded us, that I
had not been actuated by any other desire than that of showing to them
that we were not to be intimidated by numbers, when I refused to make them
any presents after their show of hostility. I now, therefore, gave them
several implements, sundry pieces of iron hoop, and an ornamental badge of
copper. When we left the tribe, we were regularly handed over to their
care. The seven men who had introduced us, went back at the same time that
we continued our journey, and two more belonging to the new tribe, went on
a-head to prepare the the neighbouring tribe to receive us; nor did we see
anything more of them during the day.

We encamped on the left bank of the river, amidst a polygonum scrub, in
which we found a number of the crested pigeon. It was late before the
tents were pitched: as Fraser seldom assisted in that operation, but
strolled out with his gun after he had kindled a fire, so on this occasion
he wandered from the camp in search of novelty, and on his return,
informed me that there was a considerable ridge to the south of a plain
upon which he had been.

I had myself walked out to the S.E., and on ascending a few feet above the
level of the camp, got into a scrub. I was walking quietly through it,
when I heard a rustling noise, and looking in the direction whence it
proceeded, I observed a small kangaroo approaching me. Having a stick in
my hand, and being aware that I was in one of their paths, I stood still
until the animal came close up to me, without apparently being aware of my
presence. I then gave it a blow an the side of the head, and made it reel
to one side, but the stick, being rotten, broke with the force of the
blow, and thus disappointed me of a good meal.

During my absence from the camp, a flight of cockatoos, new to us, but
similar to one that Mr. Hume shot on the Darling, passed over the tents,
and I found M'Leay, with his usual anxiety, trying to get a shot at them.
They had, he told me, descended to water, but they had chosen a spot so
difficult of approach without discovery, that he had found it impossible
to get within shot of them.

RIDGE TO THE SOUTH-EAST.

There was a considerable rapid just below our position, which I examined
before dark. Not seeing any danger, I requested M'Leay to proceed down it
in the boat as soon as he had breakfasted, and to wait for me at the
bottom of it. As I wished to ascertain the nature and height of the
elevations which Fraser had magnified into something grand, Fraser and I
proceeded to the centre of a large plain, stretching from the left bank of
the river to the southward. It was bounded to the S.E. by a low scrub;
to the S. a thickly wooded ridge appeared to break the level of the
country. It extended from east to west for four or five miles, and then
gradually declined. At its termination, the country seemed to dip, and a
dense fog, as from an extensive sheet of water, enveloped the landscape.
The plain was crowded with cockatoos, that were making their morning's
repast on the berries of the salsolae and rhagodia, with which it was
covered.

DISTANT RANGES SEEN.

M'Leay had got safely down the rapid, so that as soon as I joined him,
we proceeded on our journey. We fell in with the tribe we had already
seen, but increased in numbers, and we had hardly left them, when we found
another tribe most anxiously awaiting our arrival. We stayed with the last
for some time, and exhausted our vocabulary, and exerted our ingenuity to
gain some information from them. I directed Hopkinson to pile up some
clay, to enquire if we were near any hills, when two or three of the
blacks caught the meaning, and pointed to the N.W. Mulholland climbed up a
tree in consequence of this, and reported to me that he saw lofty ranges
in the direction to which the blacks pointed; that there were two
apparently, the one stretching to the N.E., the other to the N.W. He
stated their distance to be about forty miles, and added that he thought
he could observe other ranges, through the gap, which, according to the
alignment of two sticks, that I placed according to Mulholland's
directions, bore S. 130 W.

We had landed upon the right bank of the river, and there was a large
lagoon immediately behind us. The current in the river did not run so
strong as it had been. Its banks were much lower, and were generally
covered with reeds. The spaces subject to flood were broader than
heretofore, and the country for more than twenty miles was extremely
depressed. Our view from the highest ground near the camp was very
confined, since we were apparently in a hollow, and were unable to obtain
a second sight of the ranges we had noticed.

PASS THREE CREEKS.

Three creeks fell into the Murray hereabouts. One from the north, another
from the N.E., and the third from the south. The two first were almost
choked up with the trunks of trees, but the last had a clear channel.
Our tents stood on ground high above the reach of flood. The soil was
excellent, and the brushes behind us abounded with a new species of
melaleuca.

The heat of the weather, at this time, was extremely oppressive, and the
thermometer was seldom under 100 degrees of Fahr. at noon. The wind, too,
we observed, seldom remained stationary for any length of time, but made
its regular changes every twenty-four hours. In the morning, it invariably
blew from the N.E., at noon it shifted to N.W., and as the sun set it flew
round to the eastward of south. A few dense clouds passed over us
occasionally, but no rain fell from them.

DISEASES OF THE NATIVES.

Our intercourse with the natives had now been constant. We had found the
interior more populous than we had any reason to expect; yet as we
advanced into it, the population appeared to increase. It was impossible
for us to judge of the disposition of the natives during the short
interviews we generally had with them, and our motions were so rapid that
we did not give them time to form any concerted plan of attack, had they
been inclined to attack us. They did not, however, show any disposition to
hostility, but, considering all things, were quiet and orderly, nor did
any instances of theft occur, or, at least, none fell under my notice.
The most loathsome of diseases prevailed throughout the tribes, nor were
the youngest infants exempt from them. Indeed, so young were some, whose
condition was truly disgusting, that I cannot but suppose they must have
been born in a state of disease; but I am uncertain whether it is fatal or
not in its results, though, most probably it hurries many to a premature
grave. How these diseases originated it is impossible to say. Certainly
not from the colony, since the midland tribes alone were infected.
Syphilis raged amongst them with fearful violence; many had lost their
noses, and all the glandular parts were considerably affected. I
distributed some Turner's cerate to the women, but left Fraser to
superintend its application. It could do no good, of course, but it
convinced the natives we intended well towards them, and, on that account,
it was politic to give it, setting aside any humane feeling.

POPULOUS DISTRICT.

The country through which we passed on the 28th, was extremely low, full
of lagoons, and thickly inhabited. No change took place in the river,
or in the nature and construction of its banks. We succeeded in getting a
view of the hills we had noticed when with the last tribe, and found that
they bore from us due north, N. 22 E., and S. 130 W. They looked bare and
perpendicular, and appeared to be about twenty miles from us. I am very
uncertain as to the character of these hills, but still think that they
must have been some of the faces of the bold cliffs that we had frequently
passed under. From the size and number of the huts, and from the great
breadth of the foot-paths, we were still further led to conclude that we
were passing through a very populous district. What the actual number of
inhabitants was it is impossible to say, but we seldom communicated with
fewer than 200 daily. They sent ambassadors forward regularly from one
tribe to another, in order to prepare for our approach, a custom that not
only saved us an infinity of time, but also great personal risk. Indeed,
I doubt very much whether we should ever have pushed so far down the
river, had we not been assisted by the natives themselves. I was
particularly careful not to do anything that would alarm them, or to
permit any liberty to be taken with their women. Our reserve in this
respect seemed to excite their surprise, for they asked sundry questions,
by signs and expressions, as to whether we had any women, and where they
were. The whole tribe generally assembled to receive us, and all, without
exception, were in a complete state of nudity, and really the loathsome
condition and hideous countenances of the women would, I should imagine,
have been a complete antidote to the sexual passion. It is to be observed,
that the women are very inferior in appearance to the men. The latter are,
generally speaking, a clean-limbed and powerful race, much stouter in the
bust than below, but withal, active, and, in some respects, intelligent;
but the women are poor, weak, and emaciated. This, perhaps, is owing to
their poverty and paucity of food, and to the treatment they receive at
the hands of the men; but the latter did not show any unkindness towards
them in our presence.

Although I desired to avoid exciting their alarm, I still made a point of
showing them the effects of a gunshot, by firing at a kite, or any other
bird that happened to be near. My dexterity--for I did not trust Fraser,
who would, ten to one, have missed his mark--was generally exerted, as I
have said, against a kite or a crow; both of which birds generally
accompanied the blacks from place to place to pick up the remnants of
their meals. Yet, I was often surprised at the apparent indifference with
which the natives not only saw the effect of the shot, but heard the
report. I have purposely gone into the centre of a large assemblage and
fired at a bird that has fallen upon their very heads, without causing a
start or an exclamation, without exciting either their alarm or their
curiosity.

Whence this callous feeling proceeded, whether from strength of nerve,
or because they had been informed by our forerunners that we should show
off before them, I know not, but I certainly expected a very different
effect from that which my firing generally produced, although I
occasionally succeeded in scattering them pretty well.

JUNCTION OF THE RUFUS.

About 11 a.m., we arrived at the junction of a small river with the
Murray, at which a tribe, about 250 in number, had assembled to greet us.
We landed, therefore, for the double purpose of distributing presents, and
of examining the junction, which, coming from the north, of course, fell
into the Murray upon its right bank. Its waters were so extremely muddy,
and its current so rapid, that it must have been swollen by some late
rains. Perhaps, it had its sources in the hills we had seen; be that as it
may, it completely discoloured the waters of the Murray.

We made it a point never to distribute any presents among the natives
until we had made them all sit, or stand, in a row. Sometimes this was a
troublesome task, but we generally succeeded in gaining our point; with a
little exertion of patience. M'Leay was a famous hand at ordering the
ranks, and would, I am sure, have made a capital drill-sergeant, not less
on account of his temper than of his perseverance. I called the little
tributary I have noticed, the Rufus, in honour of my friend M'Leay's red
head, and I have no doubt, he will understand the feeling that induced me
to give it such a name.

GEOLOGICAL EXAMINATION.

Not many miles below the Rufus, we passed under a lofty cliff upon the
same side with it. It is the first elevation of any consequence that
occurs below the Darling, and not only on that account, but also on
account of the numerous substances of which it is composed, and the
singular formation that is near requires to be particularly
noticed. [See Appendix.] The examination was a task of considerable
danger, and both Fraser and myself had well nigh been buried under a mass
of the cliff that became suddenly detached, and, breaking into thousands
of pieces, went hissing and cracking into the river.

THUNDER STORMS.

The weather about this time was extremely oppressive and close. Thunder
clouds darkened the sky, but no rain fell. The thermometer was seldom
below 104 at noon, and its range was very trifling. The wind shifted
several times during the twenty-four hours; but these changes had no
effect on the thermometer. It was evident, however, as the sun set on the
evening of the 26th, that the clouds from which thunder had for the last
four or five days disturbed the silence of nature around us, would not
long support their own weight. A little before midnight, it commenced
raining, and both wind and rain continued to increase in violence until
about seven in the morning of the 27th; when the weather moderated.

Two or three blacks had accompanied us from the last tribe, and had lain
down near the fire. As the storm increased, however, they got up, and
swimming across the river, left us to ourselves. This was a very unusual
thing, nor can I satisfy myself as to their object, unless it was to get
into shelter, for these people though they wander naked over the country,
and are daily in the water, feel the cold and rain very acutely.

Observing the clouds collecting for so many days, I indulged hopes that we
were near high lands, perhaps mountains; but from the loftiest spots we
could see nothing but a level and dark horizon. Anxious to gain as correct
a knowledge of the country as possible we had, in the course of the day,
ascended a sandy ridge that was about a mile from the river. The view from
the summit of this ridge promised to be more extensive than any we had of
late been enabled to obtain; and as far as actual observation went, we
were not disappointed, although in every other particular, the landscape
was one of the most unpromising description. To the S. and S.E., the
country might be said to stretch away in one unbroken plain, for it was so
generally covered with wood that every inequality was hidden from our
observation. To the S.W. the river line was marked out by a succession of
red cliffs, similar to those we had already passed. To the north, the
interior was evidently depressed; it was overgrown with a low scrub, and
seemed to be barren in the extreme. The elevations upon which we stood
were similar to the sand-hills near the coast, and had not a blade of
grass upon them. Yet, notwithstanding the sterility of the soil, the
large white amarillis which grew in such profusion on the alluvial plains
of the Macquarie, was also abundant here. But it had lost its dazzling
whiteness, and had assumed a sickly yellow colour and its very appearance
indicated that it was not in a congenial soil.

LINDESAY RIVER.

We passed two very considerable junctions, the one coming from the S.E.,
the other from the north. Both had currents in them, but the former was
running much stronger than the latter. It falls into the Murray, almost
opposite to the elevations I have been describing, and, if a judgment
can be hazarded from its appearance at its embouchure, it must, in its
higher branches, be a stream of considerable magnitude. Under this
impression, I have called it the Lindesay, as a tribute of respect to my
commanding officer, Colonel Patrick Lindesay of the 39th regt. I place it
in east long. 140 degrees 29 minutes, and in lat. 33 degrees 58 minutes
south. Mr. Hume is of opinion that this is the most southerly of the
rivers crossed by him and Mr. Hovel in 1823; but, as I have already
remarked, I apprehend that all the rivers those gentlemen crossed, had
united in one main stream above the junction of the Morumbidgee, and I
think it much more probable that this is a new river, and that it rises
to the westward of Port Phillips, rather than in the S.E. angle of the
coast.

NATIVES BECOME TROUBLESOME.

We found the blacks who had deserted us with a tribe at the junction, but
it was weak in point of numbers; as were also two other tribes or hordes
to whom we were introduced in rapid succession. Taken collectively, they
could not have amounted to 230 men, women, and children. The last of these
hordes was exceedingly troublesome, and I really thought we should have
been obliged to quarrel with them. Whether it was that we were getting
impatient, or that our tempers were soured, I know not, but even M'Leay,
whose partiality towards the natives was excessive at the commencement of
our journey, now became weary of such constant communication as we had
kept up with them. Their sameness of appearance, the disgusting diseases
that raged among them, their abominable filth, the manner in which they
pulled us about, and the impossibility of making them understand us, or
of obtaining any information from them,--for if we could have succeeded
in this point, we should have gladly borne every inconvenience,--all
combined to estrange us from these people and to make their presence
disagreeable. Yet there was an absolute necessity to keep up the chain of
communication, to ensure our own safety, setting aside every other
consideration; but as I had been fortunate in my intercourse with the
natives during the first expedition, so I hoped the present journey would
terminate without the occurrence of any fatal collision between us. The
natives, it is true, were generally quiet; but they crowded round us
frequently without any regard to our remonstrances, laying hold of the
boat to prevent our going away, and I sometimes thought that had any of
them been sufficiently bold to set the example, many of the tribes would
have attempted our capture. Indeed, in several instances, we were obliged
to resort to blows ere we could disengage ourselves from the crowds around
us, and whenever this occurred, it called forth the most sullen and
ferocious scowl--such, probably, as would be the forerunner of hostility,
and would preclude every hope of mercy at their hands. With each new tribe
we were, in some measure, obliged to submit to an examination, and to be
pulled about, and fingered all over. They generally measured our hands and
feet with their own, counted our fingers, felt our faces, and besmeared
our shirts all over with grease and dirt. This was no very agreeable
ceremony, and a repetition of it was quite revolting, more especially when
we had to meet the grins or frowns of the many with firmness and
composure.

TEMPESTUOUS WEATHER.

The weather had been tempestuous and rainy, for three or four successive
days: on the 28th it cleared up a little. Under any circumstances,
however, we could not have delayed our journey. We had not proceeded very
far when it again commenced to rain and to blow heavily from the N.W.
The river trended to the South. We passed down several rapids, and
observed the marks of recent flood on the trees, to the height of seven
feet. The alluvial flats did not appear to have been covered, or to be
subject to overflow. The timber upon them was not of a kind that is found
on flooded lands, but wherever reeds prevailed the flooded or blue gum
stretched its long white branches over them. The country to the westward
was low and bushy.

SINGULAR FORMATION OF THE BANKS.

The left bank of the Murray was extremely lofty, and occasionally rose to
100 feet perpendicularly from the water. It is really difficult to
describe the appearance of the banks at this place; so singular were they
in character, and so varied in form. Here they had the most beautiful
columnar regularity, with capitals somewhat resembling the Corinthian
order in configuration; there they showed like falls of muddy water that
had suddenly been petrified; and in another place they resembled the
time-worn battlements of a feudal castle. It will naturally be asked, of
what could these cliffs have been composed to assume so many different
forms? and what could have operated to produce such unusual appearances?
The truth is, they were composed almost wholly of clay and sand. Wherever
the latter had accumulated, or predominated, the gradual working of
water had washed it away, and left the more compact body, in some places,
so delicately hollowed out, that it seemed rather the work of art than of
nature. This singular formation rested on a coarse grit, that showed
itself in slabs.

From the frequent occurrence of rapids I should imagine that we had fallen
considerably, but there was no visible decline of country. The river swept
along, in broad and noble reaches, at the base of the cliffs. Vast
accumulations of sand were in its bed, a satisfactory proof of the sandy
character of the distant interior, if other proof were wanting.

We did not see so many natives on the 28th as we had been in the habit of
seeing; perhaps in consequence of the boisterous weather. A small tribe of
about sixty had collected to receive us, but we passed on without taking
any notice of them, Nevertheless they deputed two of their men to follow
us, who overtook us just as we stopped for the purpose of pitching our
tents before the clouds should burst, that just then bore the most
threatening appearance. The blacks seemed to be perfectly aware what kind
of a night we should have, and busied themselves preparing a hut and
making a large fire.

The evening proved extremely dark, and towards midnight it blew and rained
fiercely. Towards morning the wind moderated, and the rain ceased. Still,
the sky was overcast, and the clouds were passing rapidly over us. The
wind had, however, changed some points, and from the N.W. had veered round
to the S.S.W.; and the day eventually turned out cool and pleasant.

LARGE TRIBE OF NATIVES--THEIR INDIFFERENCE TO FIRE-ARMS.

We fell in with a large tribe of natives, amounting in all to 270. They
were extremely quiet, and kept away from the boat; in consequence of which
I distributed a great many presents among them. This tribe was almost the
only one that evinced any eagerness to see us. The lame had managed to
hobble along, and the blind were equally anxious to touch us. There were
two or three old men stretched upon the bank, from whom the last sigh
seemed about to depart; yet these poor creatures evinced an anxiety to see
us, and to listen to a description of our appearance, although it seemed
doubtful whether they would be alive twenty-four hours after we left them.
An old woman, a picture of whom would disgust my readers, made several
attempts to embrace me. I managed, however, to avoid her, and at length
got rid of her by handing her over to Fraser, who was no wise particular
as to the object of his attention. This tribe must have been one of the
most numerous on the banks of the Murray, since we fell in with detached
families for many miles below the place where we had parted from the main
body.

I have omitted to mention that, while among them, I fired at a kite and
killed it; yet, though close to me, the blacks did not start or evince the
least surprise. It really is difficult to account for such firmness of
nerve or self-command. It is not so much a matter of surprise that they
were indifferent to its effects, for probably they knew them not, but it
is certainly odd that they should not have been startled by the report.

The river inclined very much to the southward for some miles below our
last camp; at length it struck against some elevations that turned it more
to the westward. Before we terminated our day's pull it again changed its
direction to the eastward of south. The right bank became lofty, and the
left proportionably depressed.

REFLECTIONS ON THE PROGRESS OF THE EXPEDITION.

In consequence of the boisterous weather we had had, we were uncertain as
to our precise situation, even in point of latitude. But I was perfectly
aware that we were considerably to the south of the head of St. Vincent's
Gulf. I began, therefore, to contemplate with some confidence a speedy
termination to our wanderings, or, at least, that we should soon reach the
extreme point to which we could advance. The sun was at this time out of
my reach, since the sextant would not measure double the altitude.
Observations of the stars were, in like manner, uncertain, in consequence
of the boisterous weather we had had, and the unavoidable agitation of the
quicksilver. My last observation of Antares placed us in latitude
34 degrees 4 minutes; so that we were still 115 miles from the coast.

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