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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LABORIOUS ASCENT OF THE BOAT.

The breezes that had so much assisted as from the lake upwards, had now
lost their influence, or failed to reach to the distance we had gained.
Calms succeeded them, and obliged us to labour continually at the oars.
We lost ground fast, and it was astonishing to remark how soon the men's
spirits drooped again under their first efforts. They fancied the boat
pulled heavily, and that her bottom was foul; but such was not the case.
The current was not so strong as when we passed down, since the river had
evidently fallen more than a foot, and was so shallow in several places,
that we were obliged to haul the boat over them. On these occasions we
were necessarily obliged to get out of her into the water, and had
afterwards to sit still and to allow the sun to dry our clothes upon us.
The unemployed consequently envied those at the oars, as they sat
shivering in their dripping clothes. I was aware that it was more from
imagination than reality, that the men fancied the boat was unusually
heavy, but I hesitated not in humouring them, and rather entered into
their ideas than otherwise, and endeavoured to persuade them that she
pulled the lighter for the cleaning we gave her.

A tribe of natives joined us, and we had the additional trouble of
guarding our stores. They were, however, very quiet, and as we had broken
up our casks, on leaving the coast, we were enabled to be liberal in our
presents of iron hoop, which they eagerly received. We calculated that we
should reach the principal junction in about fifteen days from this place.

NATIVE BURIAL-PLACE.

The natives left us to pursue our solitary journey as soon as the boat was
reloaded. Not one of them had the curiosity to follow us, nor did they
appear to think it necessary that we should be attended by envoys. We
stopped for the night upon the left bank; and close to a burial-ground
that differed from any I had ever seen. It must have been used many years,
from the number of bones that were found in the bank, but there were no
other indications of such a place either by mounds or by marks on the
trees. The fact, therefore, is a singular one. I have thought that some
battle might have been fought near the place, but I can hardly think one
of their battles could have been so destructive.

IMPEDED BY SHOALS.

We had now only to make the best of our journey, rising at dawn, and
pulling to seven and often to nine o'clock. I allowed the men an hour from
half-past eleven to half-past twelve, to take their bread and water. This
was our only fare, if I except an occasional wild duck; but these birds
were extremely difficult to kill, and it cost us so much time, that we
seldom endeavoured to procure any. Our dogs had been of no great use, and
were now too weak to have run after anything if they had seen either
kangaroos or emus; and for the fish, the men loathed them, and were either
too indifferent or too much fatigued to set the night-lines. Shoals
frequently impeded us as we proceeded up the river, and we passed some
rapids that called for our whole strength to stem. A light wind assisted
us on two or three of these occasions, and I never failed hoisting the
sail at every fitting opportunity. In some parts the river was extremely
shallow, and the sand-banks of amazing size; and the annoyance of dragging
the boat over these occasional bars, was very great. We passed several
tribes of blacks on the 19th and 20th; but did not stop to communicate
with them.

I believe I have already mentioned that shortly after we first entered the
Murray, flocks of a new paroquet passed over our heads, apparently
emigrating to the N.W. They always kept too high to be fired at, but on
our return, hereabouts, we succeeded in killing one. It made a good
addition to our scanty stock of subjects of natural history. It is
impossible to conceive how few of the feathered tribe frequent these
distant and lonely regions. The common white cockatoo is the most
numerous, and there are also a few pigeons; but other birds descend only
for water, and are soon again upon the wing. Our botanical specimens were
as scanty as our zoological, indeed the expedition may, as regards these
two particulars, almost be said to have been unproductive.

COMPILATION OF THE CHART.

When we came down the river, I thought it advisable to lay its course down
as precisely as circumstances would permit: for for this purpose I had a
large compass always before me, and a sheet of foolscap paper. As soon as
we passed an angle of the river, I took the bearings of the reach before
us, and as we proceeded down it, marked off the description of country,
and any remarkable feature. The consequence was, that I laid down every
bend of the Murray River, from the Morumbidgee downwards. Its creeks, its
tributaries, its flats, its valleys, and its cliffs, and, as far as I
possibly could do, the nature of the distant interior. This chart was,
of course, erroneous in many particulars, since I had to judge the length
of the reaches of the river, and the extent of its angles, but I corrected
it on the scale of the miles of latitude we made during the day, which
brought out an approximate truth at all events. The hurried nature of our
journey would not allow me to do more; and it will be remembered that my
observations were all siderial, by reason that the sextant would not
embrace the sun in his almost vertical position at noon. Admitting,
however, the imperfection of this chart, it was of inconceivable value and
comfort to us on our return, for, by a reference to it, we discovered our
place upon the river, and our distance from our several encampments.
And we should often have stopped short of them had not the chart shown us
that a few reaches more would bring us to the desired spots. It cheered
the men to know where they were, and gave them conversation. To myself it
was very satisfactory, as it enabled me to prepare for our meetings with
the larger tribes, and to steer clear of obstacles in the more difficult
navigation of some parts of the stream.

On the 21st, by dint of great labour we reached our camp of the 2nd
February, from which it will be remembered the Murray took up a southerly
course, and from which we likewise obtained a first view of the coast
ranges. The journey to the sea and back again, had consequently occupied
us twenty days. From this point we turned our boat's head homewards; we
made it, therefore, a fixed position among the stages into which we
divided our journey. Our attention was now directed to the junction of the
principal tributary, which we hoped to reach in twelve days, and
anticipated a close to our labours on the Murray in eight days more from
that stage to the Morumbidgee.

CURRENT OF THE MURRAY.

The current in the Murray from the lake, to within a short distance of
this singular turn in it, is weak, since its bed is almost on a level with
the lake. The channel, which, at the termination, is somewhat more than
the third of a mile across, gradually diminishes in breadth, as the
interior is gained, but is nowhere under 300 yards; while its depth
averages from eighteen to thirty feet, within a foot of the very bank.
The river might, therefore, be navigated by boats of considerable burden,
if the lake admitted of the same facility; but I am decidedly of opinion,
that the latter is generally shallow, and that it will, in the course of
years, be filled up by depositions. It is not, however, an estuary in any
sense of the word, since no part of it is exposed at low water, excepting
the flats in the channel, and the flat between the lake and the sea.

ACCIDENT TO THE BOAT.

On the 23rd, we stove the boat in for the first time. I had all along
anticipated such an accident, from the difficulty of avoiding obstacles,
in consequence of the turbid state of the river. Fortunately the boat
struck a rotten log. The piece remained in her side, and prevented her
filling, which she must, otherwise, inevitably have done, ere we could
have reached the shore. As it was, however, we escaped with a little
damage to the lower bags of flour only. She was hauled up on a sand bank,
and Clayton repaired her in less than two hours, when we reloaded her
and pursued our journey. It was impossible to have been more cautious than
we were, for I was satisfied as to the fate that would have overtaken the
whole of us in the event of our losing the boat, and was proportionably
vigilant.

MOLESTED BY THE NATIVES.

At half-past five we came to an island, which looked so inviting, and so
quiet, that I determined to land and sleep upon it. We consequently, ran
the boat into a little recess, or bay, and pitched the tents; and I
anticipated a respite from the presence of any natives, as did the men,
who were rejoiced at my having taken up so snug a berth. It happened,
however, that a little after sunset, a flight of the new paroquets
perched in the lofty trees that grew on the island, to roost; when we
immediately commenced the work of death, and succeeded in killing eight or
ten. The reports of our guns were heard by some natives up the river, and
several came over to us. Although I was annoyed at their having discovered
our retreat, they were too few to be troublesome. During the night,
however, they were joined by fresh numbers, amounting in all to about
eighty, and they were so clamorous, that it was impossible to sleep.

NATIVES BECOME TROUBLESOME.

As the morning broke, Hopkinson came to inform me that it was in vain that
the guard endeavoured to prevent them from handling every thing, and from
closing in round our camp. I went out, and from what I saw I thought it
advisable to double the sentries. M'Leay, who was really tired, being
unable to close his eyes amid such a din, got up in ill-humour, and went
to see into the cause, and to check it if he could. This, however, was
impossible. One man was particularly forward and insolent, at whom M'Leay,
rather imprudently, threw a piece of dirt. The savage returned the
compliment with as much good will as it had been given, and appeared quite
prepared to act on the offensive. At this critical moment my servant came
to the tent in which I was washing myself, and stated his fears that we
should soon come to blows, as the natives showed every disposition to
resist us. On learning what had passed between M'Leay and the savage,
I pretended to be equally angry with both, and with some difficulty forced
the greater part of the blacks away from the tents. I then directed the
men to gather together all the minor articles in the first instance, and
then to strike the tents; and, in order to check the natives, I drew a
line round the camp, over which I intimated to them they should not pass.
Observing, I suppose, that we were on our guard, and that I, whom they
well knew to be the chief, was really angry, they crept away one by one,
until the island was almost deserted by them. Why they did not attack us,
I know not, for they had certainly every disposition to do so, and had
their shorter weapons with them, which, in so confined a space as that on
which we were, would have been more fatal than their spears.

They left us, however; and a flight of red-crested cockatoos happening to
settle on a plain near the river, I crossed in the boat in order to shoot
one. The plain was upon the proper left bank of the Murray. The natives
had passed over to the right. As the one channel was too shallow for the
boat, when we again pursued our journey we were obliged to pull round to
the left side of the island. A little above it the river makes a bend to
the left, and the angle at this bend was occupied by a large shoal,
one point of which rested on the upper part of the island, and the other
touched the proper right bank of the river. Thus a narrow channel,
(not broader indeed than was necessary for the play of our oars,) alone
remained for us to pass up against a strong current. On turning round the
lower part of the island, we observed that the natives occupied the whole
extent of the shoal, and speckled it over like skirmishers. Many of them
had their spears, and their attention was evidently directed to us.--As we
neared the shoal, the most forward of them pressed close to the edge of
the deep water, so much so that our oars struck their legs. Still this did
not induce them to retire. I kept my eye on an elderly man who stood one
of the most forward, and who motioned to us several times to stop, and at
length threw the weapon he carried at the boat. I immediately jumped up
and pointed my gun at him to his great apparent alarm. Whether the natives
hoped to intimidate us by a show of numbers, or what immediate object they
had in view, it is difficult to say; though it was most probably to seize
a fitting opportunity to attack us. Seeing, I suppose, that we were not to
be checked, they crossed from the shoal to the proper right bank of the
river, and disappeared among the reeds that lined it.

TREACHERY OF THE NATIVES.

Shortly after this, eight of the women, whom we had not before noticed,
came down to the water side, and gave us the most pressing invitation to
land. Indeed they played their part uncommonly well, and tried for some
time to allure us by the most unequivocal manifestations of love.
Hopkinson however who always had his eyes about him, observed the spears
of the men among the reeds. They kept abreast of us as we pulled up the
stream, and, no doubt, were anticipating our inability to resist the
temptations they had thrown in our way. I was really provoked at their
barefaced treachery, and should most undoubtedly have attacked them, had
they not precipitately retreated on being warned by the women that I was
arming my men, which I had only now done upon seeing such strong
manifestations of danger. M'Leay set the example of coolness on this
occasion; and I had some doubts whether I was justified in allowing the
natives to escape with impunity, considering that if they had wounded any
one of us the most melancholy and fatal results would have ensued.

We did not see anything more of the blacks during the rest of the day,
but the repeated indications of hostility we perceived as we approached
the Darling, made me apprehensive as to the reception we should meet from
its numerous population; and I was sorry to observe that the men
anticipated danger in passing that promising junction.

Having left the sea breezes behind us, the weather had become oppressive;
and as the current was stronger, and rapids more numerous, our labour was
proportionably increased. We perspired to an astonishing degree, and gave
up our oars after our turn at them, with shirts and clothes as wet as if
we had been in the water. Indeed Mulholland and Hopkinson, who worked
hard, poured a considerable quantity of perspiration from their shoes
after their task. The evil of this was that we were always chilled after
rowing, and, of course, suffered more than we should otherwise have done.

RE-PASS THE LINDESAY.

On the 25th we passed the last of the cliffs composing the great fossil
bed through which the Murray flows, and entered that low country already
described as being immediately above it. On a more attentive examination
of the distant interior, my opinion as to its flooded origin was
confirmed, more especially in reference to the country to the S.E. On the
30th we passed the mouth of the Lindesay, and from the summit of the sand
hills to the north of the Murray overlooked the flat country, through
which I conclude it must run, from the line of fires we observed amid the
trees, and most probably upon its banks.

We did not fall in with the natives in such numbers as when we passed down
to the coast: still they were in sufficient bodies to be troublesome.
It would, however, appear that the tribes do not generally frequent the
river. They must have a better country back from it, and most probably
linger amongst the lagoons and creeks where food is more abundant. The
fact is evident from the want of huts upon the banks of the Murray, and
the narrowness of the paths along its margin.

RE-PASSED THE RUFUS.

We experienced the most oppressive heat about this time. Calms generally
prevailed, and about 3 p.m. the sun's rays fell upon us with intense
effect. The waters of the Murray continued extremely muddy, a circumstance
we discovered to be owing to the turbid current of the Rufus, which we
passed on the 1st of March. It is, really, singular whence this little
stream originates. It will be remembered that I concluded it must have
been swollen by rains when we first saw it; yet, after an absence of more
than three weeks we found it discharging its waters as muddy as ever into
the main stream; and that, too, in such quantities as to discolour its
waters to the very lake. The reader will have some idea of the force of
the current in both, when I assure him that for nearly fifty yards below
the mouth of the Rufus, the waters of the Murray preserve their
transparency, and the line between them and the turbid waters of its
tributary was as distinctly marked as if drawn by a pencil. Indeed,
the higher we advanced, the more did we feel the strength of the current,
against which we had to pull.

DIFFICULTIES AT THE RAPIDS.

A little below the Lindesay, a rapid occurs. It was with the utmost
difficulty that we stemmed it with the four oars upon the boat, and the
exertion of our whole strength. We remained, at one time, perfectly
stationary, the force we employed and that of the current being equal.
We at length ran up the stream obliquely; but it was evident the men were
not adequate to such exertion for any length of time. We pulled that day
for eleven successive hours, in order to avoid a tribe of natives who
followed us. Hopkinson and Fraser fell asleep at their oars, and even the
heavy Clayton appeared to labour.

We again occupied our camp under the first remarkable cliffs of the
Murray, a description of which has been given in page 128 of this work.
[GEOLOGICAL EXAMINATION.] Their summit, as I have already remarked forms a
table land of some elevation. From it the distant interior to the S.S.E.
appears very depressed; that to the north undulates more. In neither
quarter, however, does any bright foliage meet the eye, to tell that a
better soil is under it; but a dark and gloomy vegetation occupies both
the near and distant ground, in proof that the sandy sterile tracts,
succeeding the river deposits, stretch far away without a change.

A little above our camp of the 28th of January, we fell in with a large
tribe of natives, whose anxiety to detain us was remarkable. The wind,
however, which, from the time we lost the sea breezes, had hung to the
S.E., had changed to the S.W., and we were eagerly availing ourselves of
it. It will not he supposed we stopped even for a moment. In truth we
pressed on with great success, and did not land to sleep until nine
o'clock. As long as the wind blew from the S.W., the days were cool, and
the sky overcast even so much so as to threaten rain.

The least circumstance, in our critical situation, naturally raised my
apprehensions, and I feared the river would be swollen in the event of
any heavy rains in the hilly country; I hoped, however, we should gain the
Morumbidgee before such a calamity should happen to us, and it became
my object to press for that river without delay.

OBSTACLES TO THE NAVIGATION--DANGEROUS RAPIDS.

Although we had met with frequent rapids in our progress upwards, they had
not been of a serious kind, nor such as would affect the navigation of the
river. The first direct obstacle of this kind occurs a little above a
small tributary that falls into the Murray from the north, between the
Rufus and the cliffs we have alluded to. At this place a reef of coarse
grit contracts the channel of the river. No force we could have exerted
with the oars would have taken us up this rapid; but we accomplished the
task easily by means of a rope which we hauled upon, on the same principle
that barges are dragged by horses along the canals.

As we neared the junction of the two main streams, the country, on both
sides of the river, became low, and its general appearance confirmed the
opinion I have already given as to its flooded origin. The clouds that
obscured the sky, and had threatened to burst for some time, at length
gave way, and we experienced two or three days of heavy rain. In the midst
of it we passed the second stage of our journey, and found the spot lately
so crowded with inhabitants totally deserted. A little above it we
surprised a small tribe in a temporary shelter; but neither our offers nor
presents could prevail on any of them to expose themselves to the torrent
that was falling. They sat shivering in their bark huts in evident
astonishment at our indifference. We threw them some trifling presents and
were glad to proceed unattended by any of them.

PERILOUS ASCENT OF THE RAPIDS.

It will be remembered that in passing down the river, the boat was placed
in some danger in descending a rapid before we reached the junction of the
Murray with the stream supposed by me to be the Darling. We were now
gradually approaching the rapid, nor did I well know how we should
surmount such an obstacle. Strength to pull up it we had not, and I feared
our ropes would not be long enough to reach to the shore over some of the
rocks, since it descended in minor declivities to a considerable distance
below the principal rapid, in the centre of which the boat had struck.
We reached the commencement of these rapids on the 6th, and ascended the
first by means of ropes, which were hauled upon by three of the men from
the bank; and, as the day was pretty far advanced, we stopped a little
above it, that we might attempt the principal rapid before we should be
exhausted by previous exertion. It was fortunate that we took such a
precaution. The morning of the 7th proved extremely dark, and much rain
fell. We commenced our journey in the midst of it, and soon gained the
tail of the rapid. Our attempt to pull up it completely failed. The boat,
as soon as she entered the ripple, spun round like a toy, and away we went
with the stream. As I had anticipated, our ropes were too short; and it
only remained for us to get into the water, and haul the boat up by main
force. We managed pretty well at first, and drew her alongside a rock to
rest a little. We then recommenced our efforts, and had got into the
middle of the channel. We were up to our armpits in the water, and only
kept our position by means of rocks beside us. The rain was falling, as if
we were in a tropical shower, and the force of the current was such, that
if we had relaxed for an instant, we should have lost all the ground we
had gained. Just at this moment, however, without our being aware of their
approach, a large tribe of natives, with their spears, lined the bank,
and took us most completely by surprise. At no time during this anxious
journey were we ever so completely in their power, or in so defenceless a
situation. It rained so hard, that our firelocks would have been of no
use, and had they attacked us, we must necessarily have been slaughtered
without committing the least execution upon them. Nothing, therefore,
remained for us but to continue our exertions. It required only one
strong effort to get the boat into still water for a time, but that effort
was beyond our strength, and we stood in the stream, powerless and
exhausted.

ASSISTED BY THE NATIVES.

The natives, in the meanwhile, resting on their spears, watched us with
earnest attention. One of them, who was sitting close to the water, at
length called to us, and we immediately recognised the deep voice of him
to whose singular interference we were indebted for our escape on the
23rd of January. I desired Hopkinson to swim over to him, and to explain
that we wanted assistance. This was given without hesitation; and we at
length got under the lea of the rock, which I have already described as
being in the centre of the river. The natives launched their bark canoes,
the only frail means they possess of crossing the rivers with their
children. These canoes are of the simplest construction and rudest
materials, being formed of an oblong piece of bark, the ends of which are
stuffed with clay, so as to render them impervious to the water. With
several of these they now paddled round us with the greatest care, making
their spears, about ten feet in length,(which they use at once as poles
and paddles,) bend nearly double in the water. We had still the most
difficult part of the rapid to ascend, where the rush of water was the
strongest, and where the decline of the bed almost amounted to a fall.
Here the blacks could be of no use to us. No man could stem the current,
supposing it to have been shallow at the place, but it was on the contrary
extremely deep. Remaining myself in the boat, I directed all the men to
land, after we had crossed the stream, upon a large rock that formed the
left buttress as it were to this sluice, and, fastening the rope to the
mast instead of her head, they pulled upon it. The unexpected rapidity
with which the boat shot up the passage astonished me, and filled the
natives with wonder, who testified their admiration of so dextrous a
manoeuvre, by a loud shout.

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