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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We had now been twenty-two days upon the river, and it was uncertain how
long we should be in compassing the distance we had still to run.
Considering all things, we had, as yet, been extremely fortunate; and I
hoped that we should terminate our journey without the occurrence of any
fatal accident. Had the country corresponded with the noble stream that
traversed it, we should have been proportionably elated, but it was
impossible to conceal from ourselves its inhospitable and unprofitable
character, as far as we had, as yet, penetrated. If we except the partial
and alluvial flats on the immediate borders, and in the neighbourhood of
its tributaries and creeks, the Murray might be said to flow through a
barren and sandy interior. The appearance of the country through which we
passed on the 29th, was far from being such as to encourage us with the
hopes of any change for the better. The river was enclosed, on either
side, by the same kind of banks that have already been described; and it
almost appeared as if the plain had been rent asunder to allow of a
passage for its waters. The view of the distant interior was
unsatisfactory. It was, for the most part, covered with brush, but, at
length, cypresses again made their appearance, although at a considerable
distance from us.

The river continued to flow to the southward, a circumstance that gave me
much satisfaction, for I now began to feel some anxiety about the men.
They had borne their fatigues and trials so cheerfully, and had behaved so
well, that I could not but regret the scanty provision that remained for
them. The salt meat being spoiled, it had fallen to the share of the dogs,
so that we had little else than flour to eat. Fish no one would touch, and
of wild fowl there were none to be seen. The men complained of sore eyes,
from the perspiration constantly running into them, and it was obvious to
me that they were much reduced. It will be borne in mind, that we were now
performing the earliest part of our task, and were going down with the
stream. I was sure that on our return, (For I had no hopes of meeting any
vessel on the coast,) we should have to make every day's journey good
against the current; and, if the men were now beginning to sink, it might
well be doubted whether their strength would hold out. Both M'Leay and
myself, therefore, encouraged any cheerfulness that occasionally broke out
among them, and Frazer enlivened them by sundry tunes that he whistled
whilst employed in skinning birds. I am sure, no galley-slave ever took to
his oar with more reluctance than poor Frazer. He was indefatigable in
most things, but he could not endure the oar.

NATIVES BECOME UNRULY.

We did not fall in with any natives on the 30th, neither did we see those
who had preceded us from the last tribe. On the 31st, to my mortification,
the river held so much to the northward, that we undid almost all our
southing. What with its regular turns, and its extensive sweeps, the
Murray covers treble the ground, at a moderate computation, that it would
occupy in a direct course; and we had a practical instance of the truth of
this in the course of the afternoon, when we found our friends ready to
introduce us to a large assemblage of natives. On asking them how they had
passed us, they pointed directly east to the spot at which we had parted.
By crossing from one angle of the river to the other, they had performed
in little more than half a day, a journey which it had taken us two long
days to accomplish. After our usual distribution of presents, we pushed
away from the bank; though not without some difficulty, in consequence of
the obstinacy of the natives in wishing to detain us; and I was
exceedingly vexed to find, while we were yet in sight of them, that we had
proceeded down a shallow channel on one side of an island instead of the
further and deeper one; so that the boat ultimately grounded. A crowd of
the blacks rushed into the water, and surrounded us on every side. Some
came to assist us, others, under a pretence of assisting, pulled against
us, and I was at length obliged to repel them by threats. A good many of
them were very much disposed to annoy us, and, after the boat was in deep
water, some of them became quite infuriated, because we would not return.
Had we been within distance, they would assuredly have hurled their spears
at us. Thirteen of them followed us to our resting place. They kept rather
apart from us, and kindled their fire in a little hollow about fifty paces
to our right; nor did they venture to approach the tents unless we called
to them, so that by their quiet and unobtrusive conduct they made up in
some measure for the unruly proceedings of others of their tribe.

We had now arrived at a point at which I hoped to gain some information
from the natives, respecting the sea. It was to no purpose, however, that
I questioned these stupid people. They understood perfectly, by my
pointing to the sky, and by other signs, that I was inquiring about large
waters, but they could not, or would not, give any information on the
subject.

CHANGE IN THE GEOLOGY OF THE COUNTRY.

As we proceeded down the river, its current became weaker, and its channel
somewhat deeper. Our attention was called to a remarkable change in the
geology of the country, as well as to an apparent alteration in the
natural productions. The cliffs of sand and clay ceased, and were
succeeded by a fossil formation of the most singular description. At
first, it did not exceed a foot in height above the water, but it
gradually rose, like an inclined plane, and resembled in colour, and in
appearance, the skulls of men piled one upon the other. The constant
rippling of the water against the rock had washed out the softer parts,
and made hollows and cavities, that gave the whole formation the precise
appearance of a catacomb. On examination, we discovered it to be a compact
bed of shells, composed of a common description of marine shell from two
to three inches in length, apparently a species of turritella.

BANKS OF PETRIFIED SHELLS.

At about nine miles from the commencement of this formation, it rose to
the height of more than 150 feet; the country became undulating, and a
partial change took place in its vegetation. We stopped at an early hour,
to examine some cliffs, which rising perpendicularly from the water, were
different in character and substance from any we had as yet seen. They
approached a dirty yellow-ochre in colour, that became brighter in hue as
it rose, and, instead of being perforated, were compact and hard.
The waters of the river had, however, made horizontal lines upon their
fronts, which distinctly marked the rise and fall of the river, as the
strength or depth of the grooves distinctly indicated the levels it
generally kept. It did not appear from these lines, that the floods ever
rose more than four feet above the then level of the stream, or that they
continued for any length of time. On breaking off pieces of the rock, we
ascertained that it was composed of one solid mass of sea-shells, of
various kinds, of which the species first mentioned formed the lowest
part.

It rained a good deal during the night, but the morning turned out
remarkably fine. The day was pleasant, for however inconvenient in some
respects the frequent showers had been, they had cooled the air, and
consequently prevented our feeling the heat so much as we should otherwise
have done, in the close and narrow glen we had now entered.

Among the natives who followed us from the last tribe, there was an old
man, who took an uncommon fancy or attachment to Hopkinson, and who
promised, when we separated, to join us again in the course of the day.

FACE OF THE COUNTRY.

As we proceeded down the river we found that it was confined in a glen,
whose extreme breadth was not more than half-a-mile. The hills that rose
on either side of it were of pretty equal height. The alluvial flats were
extremely small, and the boldest cliffs separated them from each other.
The flats were lightly wooded, and were for the most part covered with
reeds or polygonum. They were not much elevated above the waters of the
river, and had every appearance of being frequently inundated. At noon we
pulled up to dine, upon the left bank, under some hills, which were from
200 to 250 feet in height. While the men were preparing our tea,
(for we had only that to boil,) M'Leay and I ascended the hills. The brush
was so thick upon them, that we could not obtain a view of the distant
interior. Their summits were covered with oyster-shells, in such abundance
as entirely to preclude the idea of their having been brought to such a
position by the natives. They were in every stage of petrification.

In the course of the afternoon the old man joined us, and got into the
boat. As far as we could understand from his signs, we were at no great
distance from some remarkable change or other. The river had been making
to the N.W., from the commencement of the fossil formation, and it
appeared as if it was inclined to keep that direction. The old man pointed
to the N.W., and then placed his hand on the side of his head to indicate,
as I understood him, that we should sleep to the N.W. of where we then
were; but his second motion was not so intelligible, for he pointed due
south, as if to indicate that such would be our future course; and he
concluded his information, such as it was, by describing the roaring of
the sea, and the height of the waves. It was evident this old man had been
upon the coast, and we were therefore highly delighted at the prospect
thus held out to us of reaching it.

REMARKABLE CLIFFS.

A little below the hills under which we had stopped, the country again
assumed a level. A line of cliffs, of from two to three hundred feet in
height, flanked the river, first on one side and then on the other,
varying in length from a quarter of a mile to a mile. They rose
perpendicularly from the water, and were of a bright yellow colour,
rendered still more vivid occasionally by the sun shining full upon them.
The summits of these cliffs were as even as if they had been built by an
architect; and from their very edge, the country back from the stream was
of an uniform level, and was partly plain, and partly clothed by brush.
The soil upon this plateau, or table land, was sandy, and it was as barren
and unproductive as the worst of the country we had passed through. On the
other hand, the alluvial flats on the river increased in size, and were
less subject to flood; and the river lost much of its sandy bed, and its
current was greatly diminished in strength.

NATIVE CHARACTER.

It blew so fresh, during the greater part of the day, from the westward,
that we had great difficulty in pulling against the breeze. The determined
N.W. course the river kept, made me doubt the correctness of the story of
the little old black; yet there was an openness of manner about him, and a
clearness of description, that did not appear like fabrication. He pointed
to the S.S.W. when he left us, as the direction in which he would again
join us, thus confirming, without any apparent intention, what he had
stated with regard to the southerly course the river was about to take.
Among the natives who were with him, there was another man of very
different manners and appearance. Our friend was small in stature, had
piercing grey eyes, and was as quick as lightning in his movements The
other was tall, and grey headed; anxious, yet unobtrusive; and confident,
without the least mixture of boldness. The study of the human character on
many occasions similar to this, during our intercourse with these people,
rude and uncivilized as they were, was not only pleasing, but instructive.
We found that the individuals of a tribe partook of one general character,
and that the whole of the tribe were either decidedly quiet, or as
decidedly disorderly. The whole of the blacks left us when we started,
but we had not gone very far, when the individual I have described brought
his family, consisting of about fifteen persons. We were going down a part
of the river in which there was a very slight fall. The natives were
posted under some blue-gum trees, upon the right bank, and there was a
broad shoal of sand immediately to our left. They walked over to this
shoal, to receive some little presents, but did not follow when we
continued our journey.

TAKE BEARINGS.

During the whole of the day the river ran to the N.W. We stopped for the
night under some cliffs, similar to those we had already passed, but
somewhat higher. From their summit, mountains were visible to the N.W.,
but at a great distance from us. I doubted not that they were at the head
of the southern gulfs; or of one of them, at all events. Our observations
placed us in 34 degrees 08 minutes south of lat., and in long. 139 degrees
41 minutes 15 seconds; we were consequently nearly seventy miles from
Spencer's Gulf, in a direct line, and I should have given that as the
distance the hills appeared to be from us. They bore as follows:--

Lofty round mountain, S. 127 degrees W.
Mountain scarcely visible, S. 128 degrees W.
Northern extremity of a broken range, S. 102 degrees W.
Southern extremity scarcely visible, S. 58 degrees W.

The country between the river and these ranges appeared to be very low,
and darkly wooded: that to the N.E. was more open. The summit of the cliff
did not form any table-land, but it dipped almost immediately to the
westward, and the country, although, as I have already remarked, it was
depressed, and undulated.

I walked to some distance from the river, across a valley, and started
several kangaroos; but I was quite alone, and could not, therefore, secure
one of them. Had the dogs been near, we should have had a fine feast. The
soil of the interior still continued sandy, but there was a kind of short
grass mixed with the salsolaceous plants upon it, that indicated, as I
thought, a change for the better in the vegetation; and the circumstance
of there being kangaroos in the valleys to the westward was also a
favourable sign.

FEAST ON A TORTOISE.

Beneath the cliffs hereabouts, the river was extremely broad and deep.
My servant thought it a good place for fishing and accordingly set a
night-line, one end of which he fastened to the bough of a tree. During
the night, being on guard, he saw a small tortoise floating on the water,
so near that he struck it a violent blow with a large stick, upon which it
dived: to his surprise, however, in the morning, he found that it had
taken the bait, and was fast to the line. On examining it, the shell
proved to be cracked, so that the blow must have been a severe one. It was
the largest we had ever seen, and made an excellent dish. The flesh was
beautifully white, nor could anything, especially under our circumstances,
have been more tempting than it was when cooked; yet M'Leay would not
partake of it.

The prevailing wind was, at this time, from the S.W. It blew heavily all
day, but moderated towards the evening

I was very anxious, at starting on the 3rd, as to the course the river
would take, since it would prove whether the little old man had played us
false or not. From the cliffs under which we had slept, it held a direct
N.W. course for two or three miles. It then turned suddenly to the S.E.,
and gradually came round to E.N.E., so that after two hours pulling, we
found ourselves just opposite to the spot from which we had started, the
neck of land that separated the channels not being more than 200 yards
across. I have before noticed a bend similar to this, which the Murray
makes, a little above the junction of the supposed Darling with it.

CHART OF THE RIVER.

It may appear strange to some of my readers, that I should have laid down
the windings of the river so minutely. It may therefore be necessary for
me to state that every bend of it was laid down by compass, and that the
bearings of the angles as they opened were regularly marked by me, so that
not a single winding or curve of the Murray is omitted in the large chart.
The length of some of the reaches may be erroneous, but their direction is
strictly correct. I always had a sheet of paper and the compass before me,
and not only marked down the river line, but also the description of
country nearest; its most minute changes, its cliffs, its flats, the kind
of country back from it, its lagoons, the places at which the tribes
assembled, its junctions, tributaries and creeks, together with our
several positions, were all regularly noted, so that on our return up the
river we had no difficulty in ascertaining upon what part of it we were,
by a reference to the chart; and it proved of infinite service to us,
since we were enabled to judge of our distance from our several camps, as
we gained them day by day with the current against us; and we should often
have stopped short of them, weary and exhausted, had we not known that two
or three reaches more would terminate our labour for the day.

REMARKABLE CLIFFS.

From the spot last spoken of, the river held on a due south course for the
remainder of the day; and at the same time changed its character. It lost
its sandy bed and its current together, and became deep, still, and
turbid, with a muddy bottom. It increased considerably in breadth, and
stretched away before us in magnificent reaches of from three to six miles
in length. The cliffs under which we passed towered above us, like
maritime cliffs, and the water dashed against their base like the waves of
the sea. They became brighter and brighter in colour, looking like dead
gold in the sun's rays; and formed an unbroken wall of a mile or two in
length. The natives on their summits showed as small as crows; and the
cockatoos, the eagles, and other birds, were as specks above us; the
former made the valley reverberate with their harsh and discordant notes.
The reader may form some idea of the height of these cliffs, when informed
that the king of the feathered race made them his sanctuary. They were
continuous on both sides of the river, but retired, more or less, from it,
according to the extent of the alluvial flats. The river held a serpentine
course down the valley through which it passed, striking the precipices
alternately on each side.

The soil on the flats was better, and less mixed with sand than it had
been, but the flats were generally covered with reeds, though certainly
not wholly subject to flood at any time. The polygonum still prevailed
upon them in places, and the blue-gum tree alone occupied their outskirts.
From the several elevations we ascended, the country to the N.W. appeared
undulating and well wooded; that to the eastward, seemed to be brushy and
low. Certainly there was a great difference in the country, both to the
eastward and to the westward. We had frequent views of the mountains we
had seen, or, I should have said, of a continuation of them. They bore
nearly west from us at a very great distance all day.

We fell in with several tribes, but did not see our old friend, although,
from the inquiries we made, it was evident he was well known among them.
It would disgust my readers were I to describe the miserable state of
disease and infirmity to which these tribes were reduced. Leprosy of the
most loathsome description, the most violent cutaneous eruptions, and
glandular affections, absolutely raged through the whole of them; yet we
could not escape from the persecuting examination of our persons that
curiosity prompted them in some measure to insist upon.

REJOINED BY OUR OLD NATIVE GUIDE.

The old man, whose information had proved strictly correct, joined us
again on the 4th, and his joy at being received into the boat was
unbounded, as well as the pleasure he expressed at again meeting
Hopkinson. He had been on a long journey, it would appear, for he had not
then reached his tribe. As we approached their haunt, he landed and
preceded us to collect them. We were, of course, more than usually liberal
to so old a friend, and we were really sorry to part with him.

Soon after leaving his tribe, which occupied the left bank of the river,
and was very weak in point of numbers, we fell in with a very strong tribe
upon the right bank. They numbered 211 in all. We lay off the bank, in
order to escape their importunities; a measure that by no means satisfied
them. The women appeared to be very prolific; but, as a race, these people
are not to be compared with the natives of the mountains, or of the upper
branches of the Murray.

We passed some beautiful scenery in the course of the day. The river
preserved a direct southerly course, and could not in any place have been
less than 400 yards in breadth. The cliffs still continued, and varied
perpetually in form; at one time presenting a perpendicular wall to the
view, at others, they overhung the stream, in huge fragments. All were
composed of a mass of shells of various kinds; a fact which will call for
further observation and remark.

DELAYED BY STRONG WINDS.

Many circumstances at this time tended to confirm our hopes that the sea
could not be very far from us, or that we should not be long in gaining
it. Some sea-gulls flew over our heads, at which Fraser was about to
shoot, had I not prevented him, for I hailed them as the messengers of
glad tidings, and thought they ill deserved such a fate. It blew very hard
from the S.W., during the whole of the day, and we found it extremely
laborious pulling against the heavy and short sea that came rolling up the
broad and open reaches of the Murray at this place.

Four of the blacks, from the last tribe, followed us, and slept at the
fires; but they were suspicious and timid, and appeared to be very glad
when morning dawned. Our fires were always so much larger than those made
by themselves, that, they fancied, perhaps, we were going to roast them.
Our dogs, likewise, gave them great uneasiness; for although so fond of
the native brute, they feared ours, from their size. We generally tied
them to the boat, therefore, to prevent a recurrence of theft, so that
they were not altogether useless.

CHAPTER VI.

Improvement in the aspect of the country--Increase of the river--Strong
westerly gales--Chronometer broken--A healthier tribe of natives--
Termination of the Murray in a large lake--Its extent and environs--
Passage across it--Hostile appearance of the natives--Beautiful scenery
--Channel from the lake to the sea at Encounter Bay--Reach the beach--
Large flocks of water fowl--Curious refraction--State of provisions--
Embarrassing situation--Inspection of the channel to the ocean--Weak
condition of the men--Difficulties of the return.

DELIGHTFUL COUNTRY.

It now appeared that the Murray had taken a permanent southerly course;
indeed, it might strictly be said that it ran away to the south. As we
proceeded down it, the valley expanded to the width of two miles; the
alluvial flats became proportionably larger; and a small lake generally
occupied their centre. They were extensively covered with reeds and grass,
for which reason, notwithstanding that they were little elevated above the
level of the stream, I do not think they are subject to overflow. Parts of
them may be laid under water, but certainly not the whole. The rains at
the head of the Murray, and its tributaries, must be unusually severe to
prolong their effects to this distant region, and the flats bordering it
appear, by successive depositions, to have only just gained a height above
the further influence of the floods. Should this prove to be the case, the
valley may be decidedly laid down as a most desirable spot, whether we
regard the richness of its soil, its rock formation, its locality, or the
extreme facility of water communication along it. It must not, however, be
forgotten or concealed, that the summits of the cliffs by which the valley
is enclosed, have not a corresponding soil. On the contrary, many of the
productions common to the plains of the interior still existed upon them,
and they were decidedly barren; but as we measured the reaches of the
river, the cliffs ceased, and gave place to undulating hills, that were
very different in appearance from the country we had previously noted
down. It would have been impossible for the most tasteful individual to
have laid out pleasure ground to more advantage, than Nature had done in
planting and disposing the various groups of trees along the spine, and
upon the sides of the elevations that confined the river, and bounded the
low ground that intervened between it and their base. Still, however, the
soil upon these elevations was sandy, and coarse, but the large oat-grass
was abundant upon them, which yielded pasture at least as good as that in
the broken country between Underaliga and Morumbidgee.

We had now gained a distance of at least sixty miles from that angle of
the Murray at which it reaches its extreme west. The general aspect of the
country to our right was beautiful, and several valleys branched away into
the interior upon that side which had a most promising appearance, and
seemed to abound with kangaroos, as the traces of them were numerous, and
the dogs succeeded in killing one, which, to our great mortification, we
could not find.

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